Branwen's
by SatanicAsch
Summary: *V4E9 Divergent* Listening to Uncle Qrow force out a single heavy gasp before falling limp, body tilting to the side until his head landed on the dirty red fabric of her skirt. In that moment, thoughts didn't seem to connect. Dad!Qrow. Hummingbird. RWBY AU
1. Chapter One

**Hello! Asch here. This story is kinda a test bed for a few of my favorite headcanons! So let me know if anything seems too out of wack. This is unbeta'd and written mostly between 2-4am on work nights. I'm so sorry ;-;. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It hurt.

Watching someone dear to you choke on their own air. Hacking up some ungodly substance until their body just decided it didn't want to fight anymore. She could smell the wound, but no words came to mind on how to describe how foul it was. Only gross images from the various horror movies that overreached so far for shock value Yang used to watch with her popped up. Not helpful to rational thought.

And it really, really hurt.

Listening to Uncle Qrow force out a single heavy gasp before falling limp, body tilting to the side until his head landed on the dirty red fabric of her skirt. In that moment, thoughts didn't seem to connect. It was like every wire ended up crossed until blind panic took over. Her own chest seized up and she pulled his head further on to her lap, cradling her uncle close, struggling to even react.

Jaune was the first one to reach the two of you. She could hear him speaking, but found herself unable to listen. His words were nothing but a soft hum during a horrific train crash. More voices joined in. Various terms like "Respiratory paralysis" and "Necrosis" caught the young girl's attention for a moment before her attention drifted back to the head in occupying her lap.

"Ruby.", The voice was calm, level.

The unnatural warmth from Uncle Qrow's head sank through her skirt. Followed by some feverish sweat dampening the surface of the well-worn material.

"Ruby!", A louder voice, one that broke right through the little world she had constructed around herself. The one where her family was completely safe and unharmed. Followed by a hand on her shoulder, a gentle shake to take the rest back to reality.

"We should bring him to a hospital.", Ren spoke up, gently moving the still prone Qrow into his lap and checking him over. He'd taken up the position of "medic" in Team RNJR, despite having not near enough real medical training. Just the soft hand and level head required for such a task. Though, even he had little faith that Ruby's family would survive that journey.

Nora fidgeted, obviously nervous and worried. Despite that fact that this is just some random guy who she guessed was Ruby's dad or uncle or SOMEONE close to her, she couldn't just watch him _die_. Crazy nonsense about maidens and silver-eyed warriors aside. This guy did save their lives, placing himself in this state over them. A debt like that should be repaid. No matter what.

Ruby wasn't sure if her face just looked that pathetic as everyone silently agreed to do everything they possible could. Uncle Qrow couldn't… He wouldn't…

Jaune helped his teammate up, watching as her gaze drifted to her Uncle and lingered there. The blond shook her shoulder to get her attention back on him. Gesturing to her sleeping bag, Ruby wordless went and pulled it up. Two perfectly sized sticks laid innocently a few feet away as if they weren't about to be used to make someone's stretcher. Or possible deathbed…

Ruby and himself quickly tied the impromptu stretcher together and placed it down so Ren could move Qrow onto it. The ease of which concerned Ren greatly. For as out of it and limp the man was, he should feel heavier, not light as he did.

Nora walked beside Qrow as Ruby and Jaune lifted up the stretcher, keeping a keen eye on his breathing as Ren instructed her on what warning signs to look for. Ren himself drew his guns and took the lead.

It was going to be a long journey to Mistral…

* * *

Night fell all too quickly.

Trees rustled as a soft gust of wind pushed through their branches. Despite the grim atmosphere around the party of five, Anima remained beautiful and peaceful around them.

It felt as if no distance was travelled in their 10 hours of walking. Yet, the others were all unwrapping their respective sleeping bags, Ruby opting to stay on the floor by her Uncle, despite being offered any of her teammates, and watched Jaune set a small fire up. They've walked further and longer before, but hauling Qrow tired Jaune quickly. Nora had even traded places with him for a good three hours. Ruby herself seemed to have an endless pit of energy. Impatience to see her Uncle get help was clear in her face and both the blond boy and Ren notices the frustration in her features as they begun settling down.

Not that they could blame her. If it was one of their beloveds, nothing would move quick enough to get them better either.

Though, Jaune still held more than his fair share of reservations about the strange man who lay dying before him. Not that he wished death upon him. If anything, he wanted to get more answers to this ever-growing list of questions. Why Pyrrha? Why did she have to die? What was all this nonsense about Maidens and relics, anyways?! Nothing seemed to make sense, and he wanted answers _now_.

Ruby plucked absent-mindedly on the fraying fibers of her outfit, able to focus solely on Uncle Qrow's health. Hyper-aware to every stitch in his breathing or the small coughs that tried to force their way out. The way his bandage begun dripping purple into the grey of his shirt. How painfully pale his face was, but a feverish blush begun to take over.

Why did everyone have to get hurt? Why did people have to die?

Canned rations were left out for everyone to pick their favorites to eat cold or pop it over the fire for a second in that one cast-iron pan that was used for just about everything. Cooking, ironing out the tough wrinkles in hers and Nora's combat skirts, or even an impromptu weapon on the odd (yet shockingly common) occasion. One has not lived until they've watch Nora beat a Beowolf to death in pajamas with a frying pan.

Ren found some odd plants and bark in the nearby area that he claimed could help with the wound (Her uncle had been poisoned by a crazy scorpion man who wanted to kidnap her, that was a fact that was still a little hard to grasp), that he boiled into a paste in that same cast-iron pan. It smelt like tree sap and the can of Spam that Nora just inhaled. Ruby wasn't a medical professional, but overall didn't have much faith in this "salve" that he'd concocted.

Watching him undo the bandaging was hard. Nora seemed to be pretending this wasn't happening, opting to find interest in a bug marching across the soil. Jaune gasped and looked away. The cut was still a sickly purple, but the color begun to stretch into the various veins in the area, showing how advanced Tyrian's poison had travelled. The skin around the cut was raised, irritated and puffy. Infection set in quickly it seemed, not that Uncle Qrow's immune system would be working up to snuff to keep it away.

He winced when Ren applied it, Ruby winced along with him. But she couldn't deny that some of the redness eased from the far edges of the wound.

"How'd you do that?", She asked, watching in wonder as Uncle Qrow's face relaxed just the slightest bit.

"Old family remedy.", the green-clad boy responded, a fond smile on his face. He wasn't sure that the salve would work, but watching the puffy skin cool made pride in his own abilities swell. Ripping off a clean piece of fabric from one of their spare blankets, he re-wrapped the wound.

After everyone ate, discarded cans safely buried under the moist dirt to avoid attracting scavengers, Ruby laid down on the chilly floor. Her head resting on a small corner of her sleeping bag and she listened to her Uncle's breathing, hair fanning out onto the soft cushion.

She recalled when Uncle Qrow would stay over at Dad's. Yang and her would always climb onto the couch with him, opting to stay close to the family they got to see so rarely rather than their own rooms. He'd never yell or kick them off during the night, if anything he laid perfectly still for his nieces. Obviously awake, but unwilling to go anywhere. Eventually, Dad would take pity on him and wake everyone up for breakfast. Even with the constant awkward tension Dad and Qrow had with one another, it was still some of the happiest memories she had.

Vaguely, Ruby wondered if Qrow actually had a house of his own house. Her Uncle was constantly placed on long, difficult missions yet every time he was free to do as he pleased he would stay at the house and take care of them. He would take Yang and herself to the movies, or let you play with his hair, or even withstand the havoc of letting the two of you bake. That never failed to be a complete disaster, but the trio of you never weren't wearing a smile during any of it. Then the young girl's thoughts shifted to the tension between Dad and Uncle Qrow.

Yang said it probably had something to do with the fact that her mom was Qrow's sister then make some silly comment about "defiling". As if talking about her mom didn't bother her. Personally, Ruby didn't think that was quite the case. There would be nights she'd crawl out of her room, teary-eyed from some nightmare or something and find Uncle Qrow in the living room, staring intently at a piece of photo paper in his hands before noticing her. He'd console the little girl to the best of his abilities, though he was always a bit awkward about it. Thinking back, it was endearing how hard he tried, but vexing on how he held himself back. Like he wanted to help more but couldn't, or better more, acted as if he wasn't allowed to.

Thinking so hard wasn't like her though, and the path of her thoughts just left her feeling spent and confused. Curling a bit further into the sleeping bag that held her prone Uncle, Ruby drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * *

Overnight, Qrow's condition seemed to worsen. Ren woke a solid thirty minutes before the other, like usual. He found the man now fitful, tossing and turning. Mumbling names softly, you vaguely recognize names like "Summer" and "Tai", he'd have to ask Ruby about who these people were later. Just out of sheer curiosity.

He approached slowly, being mindful of said young red-head curled into her Uncle's side wearing a frown as the erratic movements stirred her from sleep.

The fever that begun developing last night had advanced rapidly. Sweat had begun to soak through the older man's clothing and the near non-existent breathing from last night had morphed into short, shallow breathes. Not good signs.

For Ruby's sake, Ren prayed there was a village close by, because he was really beginning to doubt that Qrow would make it.

Though, hours later, seeing that name etched out on a sign post, he found himself a bit more uncaring to Ruby's Uncle. Then, the decision to spilt up was brought to the table by Nora. A massive part of him hoped Jaune would fight harder not to split up, that Ruby would understand and risk the trip through the mountains, but they didn't.

And so, Team RNJR divided into two teams. None of them knowing what would come to pass.

* * *

Kuroyuri appeared empty as they stumbled though the collapsed entrance. It was like a dark cloud hanged around that area alone, blocking warmth and light from entering. Though, after living though the Fall of Beacon and exploring the wilderness both Jaune and Ruby could tell what it felt like. Being watched, as if the shadows themselves had eyes.

The village felt haunted, a foreboding chill swept down the kid's spines. Maybe they should have attempted the mountain pass? The tension in the air was enough to make Jaune regret his decision to take this path. Though Ruby, ever the brave soul, began shouting into the emptiness.

"I-I know someone is there!", She attempted to keep her voice level, despite the obvious fear that whomever was there was not a friendly. "Please, my Uncle is sick and hurt. He really needs help!"

Suddenly, a bird caw begun erupting from a nearby tree. A spooky occurrence even if the blond boy just hadn't met a man who could turn into a bird at will. He had to bring a hand up to his ears in an attempt to block out the noise, the other holding tightly onto Qrow's stretcher.

Just as suddenly as the cries started, they ended. There was no other warning as a blade was suddenly brought down inches in front of Ruby. The two of them lowered Qrow carefully, standing around him protectively as they drew their weapons and faced their assailant. A frightening Grimm-like mask covered their face, but they seem to stare at the young girl with a question in that same gaze. A quick scoff and the word "seriously" was the only prelude before she began a relentless attack. Delivering blow after blow with her strange katana-like weapon as Ruby clumsily drew Crescent Rose to defend with.

Though, one thing unnerved Jaune. Well, other than that this is the second time they had been attacked and it'd barely even been 2 days. No, it was the fact that she was only attacking Ruby. Qrow and himself lay completely untouched, sans being watched by unseen eyes. He tossed one look to the older man on the ground before attempting to go help Ruby.

"No, watch Uncle Qrow!", She yelled, using her sniper to vault herself onto a nearby roof. To her words, the unseen gaze of their attacker grew more curious.

Reluctantly, Jaune moved back their injured charge.

Ruby had to stay on the defensive the entire time, managing to shoot a few missed shots and fruitless swings of her scythe. Every one of her attempts were met with a swifter movement, but yet she remained undamaged. Luckily, Ruby thought, it wasn't like the total one-sided battle with Tyrian. The Rose child felt as if she had a change against this mysterious assailant if given an opening. Distracted with thinking on how to gain the advantage, her weapon was thrown out of her hands, landing onto the floor with a heavy "clank".

She stood still for a moment, shell-shocked at the sudden loss of her weapon, she couldn't react in time to dodge the next strike. What she expected to feel was the sudden pain of her aura being sliced through (it hadn't completely healed from the fight with Tyrian), not being met with the sound of metal on metal. The unmistakable shing of two weapons sliding against one another.

The woman's blade had been deflected by Uncle Qrow's sword-scythe that she'd tied to her back earlier that day.

At first, Jaune was set to carry it. Soon it became too much of a burden, the bulky weight further tiring him. Then Nora, who felt similar symptoms. But, when it came time for Ruby to carry it, there was no weight at all. Similar to how she wielded the massive Crescent Rose as if it was made out of feathers, her aura took to the weapon, carrying the weight for her. It was so light, she forgot it was even there.

Pulling the foreign weapon from its makeshift sheath, Ruby quickly activated it and clicked the "transformation" trigger to bring the weapon into scythe form. She wasn't feeling quite so adventurous to attempt using a longsword, and opted for more familiar territory.

The handle was thicker than her weapon, and she struggled to keep grip as she begun swinging as it was clearly made for hands bigger than her own. It wasn't her fault she hasn't finished growing yet! The red-head kept looking for any more features that were similar to her own weapon yet found next to none. Maybe this wouldn't be as simple as she thought.

Jaune watched with fascination as Ruby begun to fight using her Uncle's weapon. Though, not very graceful, she seemed to be holding her own. Or this woman was holding back. Which was a very frightening thought.

Ultimately, all battles had to have a loser. Just as Ruby begun gaining some confidence in her wielding of Qrow's scythe, her focus broke. Said man broke into a sudden coughing fit, calling her attention as she looked over in his direction. Seeing this opening, their masked attacker sheathed her weapon, striding over to Ruby and simply _pushing_ her off the roof that they'd been battling on. The young girl let out a choked cry as she stumbled and fell. Now laying still on the cracked stone pavement.

Jaune ran over to her, assessing the damage with immeasurable degrees of panic. Her aura had been broken again, shimmering red and cracking like electricity on her outfit. He glared at the woman, curling protectively around his teammate. She strode over to them, shoving him harshly out of the way as inspected Ruby's aura.

Suddenly as the fight began, this ruffian character stopped her assault. Lifting her hand, she twitched her fingers. The boy only felt a gust of wind before darkness took over.

* * *

He woke up slowly, feeling achy and miserable and every bit his age. Not that he was ready to admit just how old he was getting. His head felt as if someone had shoved sandpaper in it and scrubbed the inside of his skull. The throb of his injury from Salem's pawn however felt subdued, but then he took notice of the fuzzy feeling caused by painkillers. Did the kids actually get him to a hospital? He'd been pretty sure that that was going to be the pathetic end of Qrow Branwen.

The kids? Where were they anyways? Even if they did make it to a hospital he'd be sure Ruby would be sitting right there waiting for him to wake up. Convinced if she left, he'd vanish. The older man wasn't sure when she'd developed that philosophy but it reminded him to much of Summer for his liking.

After all, he'd just-

"Hello Brother.", A oh-so familiar voice spoke from the far side of the room. Of which, Qrow had finally noticed it looked like it could cave in any moment. Not a hospital then. And if the voice behind him was anything to go off of, things were about to get even more complicated.

"Raven.", Was the only answer he chose to dignify her with.

"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting this turn of events— ", He cut her off. That was a lie, she was probably watching every second.

"What, helping your brother not die? I'll admit, I'm a little surprised too.", The fact that his wit and shitty personality still functioned hit home that this wasn't some pre-death dream (nightmare) he was in. Rather, here he lies, alive.

"Not that I expected two children to stroll in with you comatose either, though this is not the event I was going to mention.", She was talking like she knew something. Something that Qrow truly hoped she didn't know. "So."

A gust of wind made the curtains in the window sway. The younger Branwen twin didn't dare take a single breath. His body tense, like he was prepared to vault out of the room at any given moment.

"How long did you plan to keep your Rose a secret from us?"

Well, fuck.

* * *

 **Is this something you guys would like me to keep rolling with?**

 **Thank you for reading,**

 **Asch.**


	2. Chapter Two

**Hello again... after like. 5 months... lol. Sorry. Welcome back to mediocre writing and adverb hell! I just binge wrote this and it's unbeta'd so sorry for any mistakes. Im sleep deprived and i did my best. I hope you enjoy the chapter regardless of my mistakes and bad writing! I'm mainly setting stuff up for the midgame. I really wanna dive into my headcannons about "why" and i'm SUPER excited to get to Qrow and Taiyang's strained relationship with one another.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Asch.**

* * *

His dreams were filled with happy memories with the last frame sitting in his mind, as bright and vivid as the day it came from. Himself, only five or six years old, riding on his father's shoulders while his mother herded the girls ahead of them. The blue-eyed pack of evil charged ahead, shrieking in excitement as he begun to drool on his dad's fluffy winter jacket. The blond recognized it as one of their family trips to Shion. They'd just finished breakfast and were beginning the walk back to the inn before the rest of the days activities began. Though, he didn't recall his father's back being so bony nor so small…

The next thing Jaune knew he was tumbling towards the ground, landing face-first into the chilly soil of Anima.

Blinking blearily, the blond boy took a moment to identify his surroundings. The sky was orange, fading into a soft purple. Almost night-time then. The towering trees that never seemed to end, cracked pavement that appeared like it had been carefully laid stone by stone. Everything was lush and green, sans the small girl dressed in red sitting in the grass. Of which, he recognized instantly.

"Ruby!", He called out, jumping up. She was panting, clearly exhausted. Crescent Rose and Qrow's weapon strapped on either side of her legs rather than on her back where they would normally go.

Oh no. An embarrassing thought raced through his mind.

"Did you… Did you carry me here?", He really had no shame. Getting knocked out without even throwing a single blow or even noticing the enemy, then getting carried to safety by someone both smaller and younger. Ruby had done all the fighting, broken her Aura, and then somehow managed to escape from their mysterious assailant.

Said girl just nodded and looked a bit bashful as she smiled. "Sorry, Jaune. I didn't know any other way to move you and I couldn't get you to wake up. My semblance managed to get us pretty far though. I don't think they could keep up with my speed."

Any and all manliness points he'd gained over the last year have been set back to zero. Welcome back to Square One.

"But! I'm glad you're awake! We need to go save Uncle Qrow from those people.", She jumped up, looking suddenly re-invigorated. Jaune wasn't quite ready to risk it. She could seem fine but her Aura wouldn't be totally healed and couldn't deflect another fatal hit that day. No offense, Qrow. The JNPR leader wanted answers and to help as much as he could but letting Ruby get killed was a no-go.

He recalled watching Ruby fight, Rose petals fluttering wildly off of her and sparks flying from her weapons. She'd been twice as deadly with Crescent Rose but the way she took to her Uncle's weapon was astounding (And he was still learning to use the simple sword he had, totally shameless). Despite the clear display of skill in their attackers movements, no one had the same creativity in battle as Ruby did. Had the battle with Tyrian not spent her energy, Jaune had no doubt she would have managed to escape with the lot of you and moved on to Mistral.

Ruby had a knack for being surprising. But all human bodies had weaknesses.

Dark circles had set under Ruby's eyes, and her mouth set in a straight line. Worry sat in her furrowed brow-line and she kept looking from left to right as if someone was going to waltz out from the shadows and attack.

"We should rest for the night. You can't fight like that and haven't really slept since the fight with that crazy guy.", He paused for a moment, thinking of the best thing to say next. "If they didn't do anything to your Uncle when we were in Kuroyuri, we shouldn't worry too much about what they will do. It's just one night."

Ruby seemed to deflate as her current state of weakness was brought to attention. Tension was set deep in her muscles. Thought, Jaune did have a point. They probably wanted Uncle Qrow for something or another or it was some horrible misunderstanding? Ruby hoped that the lady that attacked wouldn't interfere again when they went to retrieve him. Maybe he was still on their stretcher, sick with no help... Ugh, hard thought really didn't suit her at all. The dull ache that was set in the back of her mind showed its head with brutal force. But she still was too wired to even consider sleeping then and there. Scary thoughts of what could be happening to her Uncle filling her head. Her red cloak blew forward a bit as a chilly wind gust blew over them.

"I get it if you can't fall asleep just yet.", Ruby smiled as Jaune seemed to read right through her. "Maybe telling me how you got us out of that village would help you relax a little?"

The curiosity was killing him. The last think he knew was Ruby'd been out like a light and himself trying to check if she was okay. And at the positively evil smirk on her face, Jaune knew it was going to be a good story.

* * *

Patience, a trait she could find herself containing at certain times. Other instances, Raven found it simpler to simply charge through and reach her goals. It was one of her strongest talents, the ability to storm through any barrier and come out unscathed with prize in hand. Yet, this was a trial she could not use brute force to get what she wanted.

As soon as the question left her mouth he feigned (she knew he had to be faking, Qrow was a terrible actor) a coughing fit. Then followed up with "passing out" using a show of very sarcastic theatrics before actually falling back asleep. A possible side effect, her medics claimed.

Staring at her yet-again comatose brother, tapping her foot as she waited for him to wake up. Had they not raided Shion with such success, the antidote for the fairly complex poison would have been impossible. If they'd been in Vale, an anti-venom would be sitting on a shelf ready to administer. He'd managed to get injured in the one place that was not equipped to help him. The villages of Anima suffered constantly from being ill-prepared. Unable to defend, protect, or live the same cushion-covered walls the kingdoms had around them.

Qrow was extremely fortunate The Tribe had chosen to rest and relish in the aftermath of their raid and not move on towards Mistral and turn the profit immediately, only a small part of her troops left with more valuable trinkets. He would have been good as dead. Not that she'd allow said actions to take place. He was too valuable of an asset to her.

The older Branwen twin held a fair good bit of words to share with her little brother. Night-time had long settled, Remnant's shattered moon gleaming in the sky as Raven quietly fumed.

The irresponsibility of him! The betrayal of The Tribe had been bad enough, yet forgivable. Her brother had been far too gentle from the beginning. Raven had been unable to carry out the proper sentence for deserters and traitors when Qrow had been young and weaker. Now she had no chance of upholding it, not even looking down at his prone form. Guilt clouded her natural merciless nature.

Not informing her of such a development was beyond reason. Though, she'd been suspicious from the beginning, clear evidence would always show itself.

As soon as Raven laid her eyes on Ruby Rose, she began to wonder.

Though, the girl looked like Summer in every way, a miniature clone of sorts, small signs began to show. Something as small as passed down mannerism or even how either says certain words can be deflected by saying that "I am her teacher" wouldn't be enough to face her brother with. He'd avoid the topic, the question, and Raven over all. Just as he did earlier with his acting "skills".

Raven almost wishes she could say the child's brains were due to the blood within her veins, but her own brother's sheer stupidity cut that option out. Any and all intelligence Ruby Rose obtained are certainly from Summer, no doubt in mind. A small blessing, for both Raven and the red-haired girl. Perhaps all of Remnant. The world had a great many deal of troubles without not one, but two unfortunate pigeons flapping about.

Plus, Summer Rose had been a capable fighter and proved herself useful. Their... Situation surrounding the death of her former friend was delicate. Raven could even admit she was fond of the woman, as such pure talent rarely exists these days. Though, Summer's _tastes_ left a lot to be desired. Clearly.

The gaping hole in the side of the makeshift holding cell was a testament to the young Rose's abilities. Looking out the window now, she could see the slightest bit of black smoke rolling from the charred edges of the building. Vernal and herself did not take either of them very seriously at first. Stripping them of their weapons was assumed to been enough.

Crushed bullet shells were discovered in the charred remains. It appeared the the little girl had broken them open for the powder, making a small pile of highly explosive Dust. Then proceeded to dump a cartridge of fire-based rounds on top of it. The child seemed spacey but creative at best. This level of ingenuity was unprecedented, and even a bit frightening.

Qrow began to stir, no doubt he would be awake shortly.

And so, Raven waited. She waited until pale sunlight shined through the window, illuminating everything in an orange halo.

Then there was noise. A hyper-pitched voice screeching into the quiet dawn, followed by a soft knock on the door.

"I-IS ANYONE THERE?"

* * *

"...So then everything when BOOM!", Ruby finished, jumping up and making a wide motion with her arms.

Jaune looked up at Ruby with wide, astounded eyes. How was it that someone so tiny and innocent could be such an evil genius? He wasn't sure whither to think of her as a little sister from size and age or his superior as she seemed to pass him in every way. At the beginning of their Haven journey, both Ren and himself tried to establish the "big bro" role with the younger girl. Ever since, she'd surpassed, surprised, or defeated them at any angle where being a brother would matter. On more than one occasion, she'd even saved his hide (carrying him away after she blew up a building to escape hostile attackers).

Ruby fell back to the floor, snickering madly as she begun poking their small fire with a stick. She'd been going a bit hysterical from exhaustion at this point. A loud yawn that escaped was sign of progress as her mind begun shutting down and prepping for some hard sleep. Tomorrow they'd get Uncle Qrow back, and then make sure he gets the care he needs. Everything would be okay...

"So whats the plan to get Qrow back?", Jaune asked, wondering if Ruby had already thought of anything. He doubted it, she was more of an on-the-spot kinda person.

But the only response he received was a soft snore as Ruby lays half on her sleeping bag, half on the dirt. The blonde boy smiled to himself and proceeded to tuck himself into his sleeping bag. They'd think of something in the morning... 

"This can't seriously be your plan, right?", Jaune asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he stare at Ruby.

Said girl had her hand raised, fist balled up in the knocking position.

"Is it... not a good plan?", She asked, looking at him with an innocent expression.

"I mean... It's a little impractical. Considering these people attacked us I feel like knocking on the door isn't the way we should go."

Ruby looked at her fist, face scrunching up in extreme thought. As if it the most important decision of the last year. To knock or not to knock.

"No. You're right, Jaune.", She proclaimed, lowering her arm and turning towards the door.

The older boy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Alright, so how about we-", He was interrupted.

"They might not hear me if I knock! I don't even know if this is the right building!", Suddenly, she drew in a deep breath and- "I-IS ANYONE THERE?"

Birds flew from their trees in the distance, and it felt as if the sound barrier itself was shattered by the sound of Ruby Rose screaming at the top of her lungs to see if anyone was home. Somehow managing during her war cry-esque version of knocking, her hand had raised, and she gently rapped on the door with a slight nervous chuckle.

Sword and shield now drawn, Jaune waited for someone to greet them. Expecting friendlies was wishful thinking, and he wanted to be ready this time. Though, he wished other methods had been taken into account before this one, it would be hard no matter what to find/sneak off with a full grown man without drawing attention.

"Anyone home?", She continued, thankfully not shouting this time.

Jaune tensed, spine straight and muscle taught. Was it safer to defeat the all the foes then look for Qrow? Or would it be better to covertly find the man and engage only when necessary? He didn't know.

"Hello...? Uncle Qrow?"

Right now, perhaps it was best to just roll with the lucky / silly / secret genius (?) combo that was his teammate. Looking over at her, he could see that she'd pressed her ear against the door.

"Do you... hear that?", Ruby whispered, straining to catch the noises within.

Now stand next to his younger teammate, he leaned in to hear.

It was barely audible, the soft sound of movement could be heard from within the building. The slightest hints of a voice, partnered with the hushed foot steps.

Not fully pressed into the door like Ruby was, Jaune could make out the flutter of footsteps gradually getting closer to the door.

Heart rate rising, Jaune reached over to tap on Ruby's shoulder, gaining her attention. "Get out of sight, and have your sniper trained on the door.", He ordered.

Ruby nodded, quickly using her semblance to hide within a damaged bell tower. Crescent Rose now opened she smashed the point down into the stone floor and waited. She adjusted the cracked scope onto the window just in time to watch the curtains rustle close. Frowning at the missed chance to see inside, she moved back to the door.

After a few minutes, no one came to open it despite the noise they both heard inside. Ruby kept checking back at the window for movement only to find it deadly still. When shifting back to Jaune, she watched as he suddenly seemed real interested on the noise going on inside.

Looking to the tower, Jaune quickly waved his arms to grab Ruby's attention. When he felt the sensation of being watched pressing on him he began signing to her. He'd been listening one voice yelling for a few seconds before a second voice joined in. This one masculine and not yelling back. He couldn't make out if it was Qrow or not but the fact that they clearly heard Ruby's shout and chose not to open the door was suspicious.

He held up two fingers for his partner to see the tapped his lips to signal what he's heard. Then made the motions for his plan. If the two inside where to occupied for the door, then he'd enter and scope it out. The large window with a curtain provided Ruby with a large over fire area to support him. If he managed to even rip the curtains open soon enough...

Ruby bobbed her scythe up and down signaling she was ready for him to take action. Making the secondary plan to blast out the window and use her semblance to speed in there at the first hint of trouble.

Turning the knob slowly, quietly, Jaune tiptoed into the damaged building. He instantly heard both voices better. A stern feminine voice along with unmistakable rasp that he now associated with Ruby's uncle. Curious, he ducked behind a wall and made his breathing shallow and listen to the voices that rang out above him.

"-Taking her right this second! Whatever plan you have in mind is undoubtedly doomed to fail. Your foolish ideals will be both her's and your downfall! We can make use of her!"

"Pft. Not happening. Just because of the half-assed idea you got doesn't entitle you to her. Did some screws finally fall loose, Raven? With the bull comin' out of your mouth.", Qrow snickered, his tone was teasing.

Raven, huh? They seem to know each other in one way or another. In some kinda way that was antagonist but not violent. The blond boy continued to ease drop. He had no way to signal Ruby from within the building so he just hoped she wouldn't get trigger happy until there was actually a commotion inside.

* * *

"You're lucky we aren't taking her right this second! Whatever plan you have in mind is undoubtedly doomed to fail. Your foolish ideals will be both her's and your downfall! We can make use of her!", Raven shouted. Gods, did she want to throttle him! It was so hard to remain composed with any matter that concerned Qrow. Every second of the day she regretted that he was alive.

"Pft. Not happening. Just because of some half-assed idea you got doesn't entitle you to her. Did some screws finally fall loose, Raven? With the bull comin' out of your mouth.", He responded, cool as he can manage. He rooted around for his flask, pulling it from his breast pocket. It was extremely low but anything to help him get through this encounter.

Seeing Raven again so soon was not part of his plan. She was someone he could only deal with in small doses with looong spans of time between. And forget seeing her after she'd discovered a chink in his hard-worked... ruse? He didn't have a proper term for it but Raven knowing wasn't the worst thing but he'd rather she didn't. He'd like to keep it no one knowing. The only person he trusted with it was Tai.

It had been enough that she injured her to get the information that she had.

"Ya know-", Qrow started, "You're awfully focused on my affairs and yet you continue to neglect yours. It's getting increasingly obnoxious."

"You're getting agitated. Because I'm right.", Raven smirked, yet again blowing of the hinting of Yang from her brother to his annoyance.

Watching him tilt his flask all the way back, looking into it after he pulls it away with an upset expression. It was empty already. Worse, he didn't feel the slightest bit drunk. He lowered it, and then began moving off the bed.

He winced while getting up, but pushed on anyway. The wound on his side stung and his body still felt like it was filled with bricks but he couldn't stand to be laying down any longer.

"And if you were right?", Qrow asked, looking into the curtains an moving to open them. Refusing to look in Raven's direction. Her knowing was honestly the least of his worries. She only communicated among the tribe, and was more interested in harnessing the ability of Silver Eyes.

"My views remain the same.", a deadpan answer but smugness was still clear in her tone.

"What? Happy Tai didn't cheat on you?", And her momentary elation killed just like that. Qrow really knew how to ruin any moment.

Now wearing a smug grin of his own, Qrow undid the curtains and shifted them open... Only to be greeted by an oncoming bullet flying into the window. Glass exploded around him as chilly wind rushed into the already cold room.

Raven didn't look surprised so she'd obviously been expecting a move to be made one way or the other. He arched out-of-the-way from the shattering glass, his recovered Aura harmlessly bouncing any stray shards away. "Ruby?", He questioned. Raven just nodded, looking nonplussed. She'd forced him awake shortly after the little girl's shout.

"This conversation isn't over, brother.", It was time for them to part ways, she couldn't make any moves without ruining her own plans. Landing any further on his bad side would only bring misfortune. Ironically. A stalemate would have to do. She had to handle things with her brother gently. If any information in regards to _that night_ got to Qrow he would come for blood.

"Yea yea. The answers still gonna be no.", Qrow countered, turning towards Raven. His usually mild garnet eyes burning into her in such a way that screamed "over my dead body".

Waving out the window, Qrow signaled Ruby. With one more glance back to his twin sister, he carefully jumped out of the window. Everything still hurt but he could manage something as simple as jumping from the second story.

"UNCLE QROW!", was the only thing he heard before being tackled to the floor by a ruby-red blur. "I'm so happy you're okay! How do you feel? What did those people do? I was so worried!", Ruby went on, sitting beside him now on the stone floors. Chuckling, Qrow did his best to divert her worries.

Raven looked down on the seen with a scoff, before drawing her dust katana and opening a portal. "Until next time.", She muttered.

Standing at the top of the stairs, watching their attacker walk into some crazy black/red portal and the proceed to vanish within it, was Jaune. Momentarily stunned by the odd display, he stood with a completely confused expression on his face.

"Uh... What?"

* * *

In Patch, two people begin to pack their things.

One, an older man with blond hair and blue eyes. His face set with a determined expression and he carefully placed a picture frame into his travel pack. Completed with clothes, a few cans of food for Zwei until they made a proper stop, along with other necessities. He gripped the two boat tickets in one hand while throwing the backpack onto his shoulder. Taiyang was all set to go.

With a quickly written letter to Port and Oobleck, he opened the door.

Outside, Yang sat beside her motorcycle. She was a little miffed her dad would get to drive, but understood his ego just couldn't handle riding bitch. Plus she got to hold Zwei, which was always a bonus. Her bags had been packed long ago and she'd been waiting impatiently for him to finish his own packing. She'd resorted to pulling grass out of the ground with her robotic arm while idly petting the family dog with her flesh hand.

Hearing the door latch shut, she looked up to see the serious look on her dad's face and matched it with her own.

"Alright. Let's go.", Taiyang announced, swinging his legs over the motorcycle while Yang grabbed Zwei.

* * *

 _Dear whoever gets this first, (Probably either Peter or Bart),_

 _Yang and I are going to search for Ruby. I apologize for vanishing on such short notice and with no other way to let you know that we are not here. I wish you luck in the restoration of Beacon and Vale._

 _I've left a letter at Signal explaining my departure._

 _I hope we will be back soon enough to aid, or soon enough before anyone gets this letter would be even better! Thank you for understanding._

 _Sign- Taiyang Xiao Long._

* * *

 **Again, so sorry for the wait for this garbage lmao. Thank you for reading. We'll get to see the whole Raven and Qrow convo in a FLASHBACK later because i'm a TERRIBLE WRITER.**

 **-Asch.**


	3. Chapter Three

**Hi guys! I just binge wrote this entire thing, it's almost ENTIRELY unedited so i'm extremely sorry in regards to its readability. Also this is the quickest i've updated something EVER. I think it's been under 2 weeks? Like damn. I hope you enjoy! I'll look at both ch 2 and ch 3 tomorrow for editing to make them less shitty. (edit; The power went out last night while I was trying to post this ((thanks Qrow)) but im still tired so ill edit the chapters later) Regardless it's still gonna be adverb hell. Night guys!**

 **-Asch.**

* * *

He'd forgotten what riding felt like. Or even what being on a boat was like. All his missions were stationed nearby to be close if his daughters ever needed him and even those were few and far between. With Yang and Ruby at home, it'd been his sole mission to raise his girls. Then both of them managed into Beacon at the same time (He was so proud) and Ozpin had just begun issuing him tasks again.

He was always lifted from Point A to Point B via air ship now a days. He couldn't even remember the last boat trip he'd been on. The memory far enough back that he saw STRQ, all sitting together on the bow of the ship. Raven watching each passenger for anything out-of-the-ordinary. Himself trying tell her that glaring at the civilians was making them uncomfortable. Summer idly stitching Qrow's shirt and pants from a small incident involving a pack of seagulls and animal rights, while soaking in the ocean rays. Qrow himself had been working to affix his red cape to his black pajama shirt with Summer's sewing supplies, while shamelessly sitting in public only in matching fuzzy black night pants.

Chuckling a bit, he pushed back the bittersweet memories and opted to find his daughter. Yang vanished from sight after they had been assigned a room and hadn't popped back up since. He was starting to worry.

The boat itself was decent, Tai didn't expect much out of it. Boat prices skyrocketed after the Fall of Beacon and this was the only open boat not yet filled and within price range. However, the layout was pretty atrocious. He walked into the same corridor four times before finding the proper exit, only thanks to a sweet Faunus woman and her husband.

Spotting the mop of blonde hair hovering over the Buffet, he sighed in relief at finding Yang before he ended up too lost. She was grabbing at everything on the table, while some of the more shrewd adults looked on in muted horror.

"Gonna leave some for the rest of the ship?", Yang had swiveled her head at the sound of her dad's voice. He couldn't help but laugh at the lingering cake crumbs on the corners of her mouth.

"Shut up, it's all you can eat. If they weren't ready for this, they shouldn't have put the sign up.", With that statement, she proceeded to dump a handful of cookies onto a plate over-flowing with cakes, generalized versions of food native to Anima, chicken drumsticks, and assorted fruits. Gods, he missed being that age.

It was also nice to see she had an appetite again, even if it was crappy buffet food.

"Alright, I think that's plenty.", Steering her towards the hall and to the room they shared, while Yang just allows herself to be pushed. Of course being mindful of the feast in her hands.

Their room was small, but again the Xiao Long's didn't mind. It wasn't a luxury cruise.

Two full sized beds with gaudy seashell print linens sat within two feet of one another. A nightstand on the outside of each bed that pressed right into the wall. Stock photos of the beach or the boat itself were covering the seafoam-colored walls in cheap frames. Everything screamed "beach aesthetic" to the point of disgust. Too much color for a glorified storage room. But regardless, it'll do. Not a vacation.

Yang plopped down onto her bed, squeaking in distress at the sudden weight. Putting the plate down on the night stand (and grabbing a drumstick), the blonde girl leaned back and looked up at her dad.

"So what's up?", She asked, swallowing a bite and wearing a curious expression.

Taiyang's expression turned semi-serious. "Well, we decided to find your sister as a family and we need a better game plan. 'Show up at Haven' will only get us so far. That's the only tip we got from the letter she left."

"So, we may have to look around some more? We've got the bike and Ruby said she was gonna be traveling by foot. We can travel further easier. Plus, we can ask around for her. I doubt she's given up wearing her hood after some months away. It makes her prettttty easy to recognize."

Taiyang was nervous to mention any information he didn't feel comfortable sharing yet. Anything regarding Summer Rose or the "SEW" stuff, Tai avoided. After Beacon Tower, people would be after Ruby. Dangerous, bad, evil people. Her journey to Mistral wasn't likely to be a simple stroll with Grimm being the only danger. With the danger she faces, it was hard to say if she would have made it to Mistral safe and sound.

And the only hope he had for her safety left a very bad taste in his mouth...

Noticing her dad being deep in thought, Yang put the chicken bone in her hand onto the plate and looked up at him with a cautious look. A fleeting scary thought passed through her head.

"Ruby's okay, right?", Her voice was panicked, the chance of Ruby being taken down by a Grimm was now locked in her mind. After all, they hadn't heard from her in months...

Sighing deeply, Tai looked up. "I'm fairly sure she's alright. Ruby's strong, gonna take a lot to take my girl down."

Gaze now curious, Yang studied her father as he walked towards the port window. Why did he sigh if he thought Ruby was alright? She must have said that out loud because he spoke up.

"Conveniently, your Uncle Qrow vanished at the same time Ruby did. Despite ANYTHING I've said to him.", His face showed annoyance.

"And that's bad why?", Whatever was going on, Yang wasn't understanding it. While Ruby had been recovering, all Uncle Qrow and dad did was argue. At least when she was a kid, they tried to cover it up that they didn't get along. She'd heard her dad yell plenty of time, so it didn't startle her to hear him shout. A childhood full of high-jinx's and exploration had her used to it. But, she'd never heard Qrow yell until she woke up to find her arm gone and the world gone to shit. It scared her more then she'd ever say.

"He's probably with your sister, keeping her safe.", Tai said, watching the waves from outside the window. They'd probably arrive at the Port in the morning. Then, a fairly long motorcycle ride into Mistral. He made a mental note to top up on fuel before taking off again. To be safe.

"And I ask again, why did that need a long sigh? With him protecting her, Ruby is for-sure safe! That's a good thing.", The lack of answers where reeeally starting to grate on her nerves. Though, it occurred to her that the sigh was just voicing his distaste for Uncle Qrow.

"It's nothing. Just... It's a good thing Ruby has someone to keep her safe.", Tai's words weren't confident. Little Ruby with a very big target written on her back, guarded by literally Bad Luck. Plus a multitude of other hangups and issues he had regarding his former teammate. The last "discussion" Qrow and him had was a prelude to this. He should have worked harder to get his way. Now Ruby was who-knows-where. Everything they'd worked so hard on over so many years was finally crumbling and he was afraid of what may follow. Nor was he ready for it.

"So, we can talk about Mom now but not the gigantic beef with Uncle Qrow?", It was a bit callous of Yang to say it that way but after listening to them fight for days on end, thinking about them arguing during her childhood, and the blatant dislike of Qrow in the way her dad talked reminded her too much of the scenario regarding her mother. Rather this time, sadness was replaced with near-childish hatred and anger. "Are we waiting seventeen years to have a serious conversation about that too?"

Taiyang gave her a withering look.

"Seventeen years it is!", She'd get it out of him one day. Or better yet, Uncle Qrow seemed to be the bearer of knowledge her dad wasn't keen on sharing. And if he was with Ruby, that means she'll know it pretty soon.

That statement clearly ended the talk they were having. Any planning would probably be made after they made it into Mistral. Yang couldn't see anything more to do than ask around in Mistral then check towns and land around if the search fails. Grabbing a square of cake off her plate, she began to munch on it thoughtfully.

A few scratch-like noises echoed from the other side of the door. Taiyang walked over, opening it with no caution to reveal Zwei. The family dog padded back into the room, panting and sporting a vibrant Lei.

"Looks like Zwei's having fun.", He remarked casually, watching the corgi hop onto Yang's bed. Begging for some uneaten goodies from her plate, no doubt.

His daughter just shrugged, ripping of some pieces of chicken and sharing with Zwei.

Closing the door, Tai begins to scratch the back of his neck. He didn't mean to blow his daughter question (no matter how tactlessly it was given) off. That just wasn't a conversation to be had now, and hopefully never.

Switching the light off, snickering at the "hey!" Yang shouted in response before turning the nightstand lamp on, Tai flopped himself into bed.

Tomorrow the journey continues.

* * *

" _What did you two hope to gain from this?"_

" _This isn't what we agreed on, Qrow! She's in enough danger with this whole mess!"_

" _Ruby Rose has just been enrolled into my academy. Is there anything you'd wish to share, Qrow?"_

"Uncle Qrow?"

Startling up, the man in question looked over to Summer's daughter. Ruby had been trying for his attention. He sighed, knowing it was time to switch the burden of himself to the blond kid.

It was Jaune's turn to support Qrow. Embarrassingly, he seemed to struggle with holding the man's weight then little Ruby did. She called out to Jaune and asked to switch for a few hours until they settled down for the night. And despite the older man insisting he could walk on his own, it was clear he couldn't. Stumbling each step even with help.

The poison was still an issue, whatever was given to him from his "excursion" with the Raven character (which Qrow kept diverting the subject when asked about) would only work for so long. His entire system had been compromised and damaged from it. It would take more than a few rounds of antidote and some dubious painkillers for a full recovery. Also, it was just extremely distressing for him to be seen so frail in the face of someone who looked up to him as a strong warrior.

"I told you it's fine, kid.", Qrow said, clearly out of breath. "I'm tougher than a little bit of poison."

Ruby sent him a pointed glare.

Despite the strong face he was desperately trying (and failing) to put on, aches and pains were setting in again. His body felt useless and heavy. The medication administered to him would be wearing off in another few hours. He didn't even have any whiskey left to numb himself. The huntsman hoped he could manage to keep coherency until they arrived in Mistral.

Sighing in defeat, Qrow just hung off Jaune and attempted to hold himself up somewhat. It was an awkward fit still, but a little less so then having to balance on Ruby. He was just towered over both kids. Though, he'd expected more complaints out of the boy for having to carry him. Jaune's face just held a little bit of struggle in it, nothing truly negative.

"How much longer till camp?", Jaune asked, securing his hold around Ruby's family. Yea, family. He was still a bit suspicious after the conversation he'd overheard. "No offense, you're no featherweight, man."

Qrow let out a scoff, dropping just a little more of his mass onto the boy. Predictably, he almost dropped him before the kid managed to adjust to the sudden weight.

"Not cool!", Jaune shouted, roughly jostling Qrow in retaliation and feeling slightly bad when he groans in pain. The older man is quick to brush off the concern, and laughed a bit at the childish exchange.

Looking ahead, he saw Ruby stopped in place. "Ruby?"

She had one hand on her chin, looking at the floor in a contemplative manor. Muttering something unintelligible while both males looked at her with matching puzzled expressions.

"Featherweight... Featherweight... FEATHER WEIGHT!", She jolted up suddenly, hand raised in a wide motion. The two men of the group almost fell over again, alarmed by the sudden outburst.

Swiveling on her feet, she looked at directly at her Uncle.

"Uncle Qrow! Can you turn into a birdie?",She asked and he could see the delight she had at her own idea sparkling within them.

"I dunno, kiddo. Probably? But I'm not too sure I can fly right now.", He was completely sure he couldn't. If he can't manage moving his own legs then wings were out of the question.

"Well duh!", Took his pride down a bit hearing that but he let her continue. "But you'll be a lot easier to carry!"

"My semblance kinda acts worse with the feathers on, kid.", Was his response, using the arm that wasn't slung around Jaune to rub the back of his neck. It was already bad enough now that he was basically sober, only the slight fuzz remained from the last swigs he took in his sister's company.

"Worse? I've already tripped over my shoelaces like five times!", The JNPR leader whined, not really all that bother by it. He figured hanging around someone who's a literal Bad Luck Charm would have some kind of effect.

"Sorry 'bout that.", He muttered in response.

Sensing her Uncle's reluctance to make his semblance he spread any more, Ruby worked quick to dismiss any of his worries.

"Psh! As if that's our biggest worry. We should be focused on getting to Mistral over silly stuff like that. It'll take a lot of the weight off of us. Plus! If we get into a fight, you can always change back so we'll never be in any REAL danger. Not that I think we are in the first place!", It was the matter-of-fact tone she had that really sold it.

The weight Uncle Qrow felt under his own semblance was beginning to sink in better as she began looking back at all the time they spent together. He seemed almost neurotic about it throughout the past, and even now. The internal struggle he appeared to have at the prospect of training her to use Crescent Rose, and not forgetting the loud argument with Dad that came right after.

" _That's a disaster waiting to happen, Qrow! I'm not gonna sit around and let MY DAUGHTER get hurt because of your inability to control yourself!"_ , The memories of what her dad had said was still a very fresh memory. Ruby had never heard one of their arguments before that. With the context of Uncle Qrow's misfortune, the thought that the final sentence had been about his fun-loving boyish unpredictability. Suddenly those fights seemed a lot more one-sided, and a lot less candid...

The way Ruby was watching him for an answer dug into his heart. The idea of bringing more of his adversity onto an already risky playing field wasn't something he was keen on doing.

In the end, the choice to shift was made for him as an unearthly screech echoed throughout the forest.

"What was that?", Frightened by the noise, Jaune unconsciously tightens his grip on Qrow.

"Our queue. We need to get moving and find a town. Or at least meet up with Ren and Nora.", Ruby speaks up. "Uncle Qrow, please. We'll move a lot faster."

"I know you're afraid of hurting us but I know you won't. I never got hurt once by your semblance when you were training me. The worst that happened is what? Jaune tripping over his shoelace? He'd do that anyways!", She continued, ignoring Jaune's indignant shout of 'Hey!'. "Please trust me, Uncle Qrow. We'll be fine."

That was just too earnest, innocent and sweet for Qrow not to listen. His heart melted under the warmth of her speech. Even still, it dug up painful memories of another Silver Eyed open soul speaking his worries away. He was starting to think it wasn't just Grimm that buckled under the weight of that gaze. There would be a time in a place for discussions regarding the hard reality of his bad luck, and what it had costed everyone. And with the rate everything was shattering around them, that talk would be coming soon.

With a dramatic sigh, he pulled his arm out of Jaune's grip and off of the boy's shoulder. Unable to manage any words, Qrow changed. The process only took a split second and then he was on the floor. Black feathers ruffled and out of place, his wings were drooping and his body was overcome with tremors. His tail bobbed with the effort it took to breath. He knew he was weak but damn, he didn't think he was that bad off.

Jaune looked at the crow, a shocked look on his face. The magic of watching a full grown man turn into a bird had not worn off.

"Aw, you're so adorable!", Ruby, ever the animal lover, walked over to him. Gently lifting him up with two hands. She could tell he was glaring at her for the remark even as an inexpressive bird. It was still her Uncle, her elder, even if he was an extremely cute birdie.

The distant roar washed over the quiet forest once more, only this time it was closer and the situation was pressing down on them. Now serious, Ruby placed her (bird) Uncle on the inside of her hood, resting him on her shoulder while the wall of cloth kept him in place.

"Alright. Let's get moving."

* * *

 **Bird!Qrow yessssssssss. And next chapter is this AU's equivalent of the Nuckelavee Grimm battle. See ya next time!**

 **-Asch**


	4. Chapter Four

**HAHAHA WELCOME BACK! Take this long 9000+ word mess as my apology. Lemme know how ya feel. Btw, during all this time CH5 and CH6 are basicallyyyyyy done. Thank yall for sticking with me. You're the best. 3**

 **-Ascher**

* * *

"Ya know, that's pretty handy.", Jaune said, rubbing the back of his neck. For sure weird, but it _was_ a lot easier to travel now.

They'd been walking for two hours more, Ruby's uncle safely nestled in her cloak as a crow. Peering over the fabric barrier that held the older Huntsmen in place he noticed Qrow's eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping. A restless sleep as far as he could tell by the labored breathing and twitches. He really didn't know a lot about birds.

"Yep! Uncle Qrow used to let Yang and me chase him around the yard when he was like that. I think he just did it 'cause it was the fastest way to tire us out while he was babysitting. Then we'd go inside and he'd make something for us to eat.", Ruby had a fond look on her face, face tilted up an eyes closed as she reminisced. "And if it was cold, he would let us try to make hot chocolate. It was usually instant powder though. I don't think he would have trusted us with the stove-top. Then, he'd put whip cream on it and a strawberry on the corner of the mug and tell us not to tell Dad he let us have so much sugar."

Gods, did she miss those days. Never in a million years did she think that they would end up in this mess.

"He sounds like a great person.", Jaune said. It was odd hearing such warm, familial stories about the man he had just met. In the span of one intense battle, two very confusing conversation (though, Jaune wasn't meant to hear the second one), and toting around him in a feverish delusion, it was almost awkward to listen to Ruby monologue.

"Mhm, he is. He got really into missions so we didn't get to see him all the time. Whenever he'd come home, Yang and I would never leave him alone. But when I started at Signal, both Dad and Uncle Qrow had been teachers for a little while there. Dad taught 'Hand to Hand Combat', Yang was in his class for her time at Signal. Qrow taught 'Blades & Battle' and 'Advanced Tactics'. I was in both of his classes. Dad wouldn't mention it but I know he was upset I didn't go into his class. But Uncle Qrow was totally the cooler teacher. He hated when the other kids would call him 'Professor Branwen'. Said it made him feel old. We'd all tease him about it."

Ruby reached her hand up to pat her Uncle's fuzzy head, frowning when he remained deeply asleep.

"Kinda hard to imagine him as a teacher but the way you mentioned it I can picture it perfectly.", Jaune remarked, respect growing for the bird resting in his teammates hood.

Humming in response, the red-haired girl just continued walking forward.

Slowly but surely, rain clouds were brewing overhead. It was late-noon but the skies looked black and dreary. Jaune gave it an hour max before it started pouring. They had no time to wait it out either. He was so not looking forward to trudging through the rain for hours. They may as well travel during the night too. Nothing says fun like wet boots and clothes sticking to your body.

"Do you hear that?", Ruby asked, placing a protective hand over her Uncle and the other one in front of Jaune. She stood in place, looking back with a wary expression.

"The thunder?", Jaune pointed up at the sky. "Or did you hear that roar again?"

The last time that grim screech echoed it sounded closer than the first sound. As close as Kuroyuri was behind them. A few hours of walking and they had yet to hear it again. Quietly hoping it had just wander off somewhere else, the JNPR leader pushed it to the back of his mind.

"I think I hear fighting.", Ruby's hand moved from in front of Jaune and onto Crescent Rose. The magnetic latch let her quick-draw the weapon and click the safety off before loading a bullet into the chamber.

Focusing, Jaune strained his ears to listen for the sounds Ruby was hearing. It was difficult to pick up any sounds over the rolling thunder, but if he focused hard enough he could barely catch the muffled sounds of explosion and airy Grimm screeches.

The firing noise of Nora's grenade launcher was the only noise he could clearly recognize. Weapon sounds were as identifible as the users own voice. Ren's pistols fired too quietly for Jaune to tell if he was fighting too.

Lightning cracked down from the sky, over-shadowing another scream from the Grimm their friends were struggling against.

"That's Nora's...", Ruby mumbled, hearing the same cannon fire as he did.

"They need help!", Jaune yelled. But, it had been many hours since they'd travelled away from Kuroyuri. They couldn't move as fast as sound to aid the rest of Team RNJR. Unless...

"Ruby? How far can you travel with your semblance?", He asked. It was worth a shot, and would at least get them closer.

"Pretty far now adays. But if I carry you and Uncle Qrow, I'll run out of Aura before we even get close.", Even lifting Nora for their special move had been a bit of a chore, and that was only for a few moments. And considering she would be manuvering over trees, shaking her sick bird Uncle, and carrying Jaune while soaring forty miles back at high speeds? It just wasn't gonna work.

Jaune mulled over any possible ideas, but only found one that would even work and didn't like the premise of it. However, not going to help Ren and Nora just wasn't an option either. Letting Ruby travel and fight alone was a harsh gamble.

"Jaune.", Ruby called out to him, reaching her hands into her hood and gently lifting Qrow out. "I can do this."

She placed him down in front of a tree and patted him on his feather-y head a few times to rouse him. "Uncle Qrow, we're stopping for a while. Can you turn back into a person?"

Bird-Qrow nodded wearily before the split second transformation took place and suddenly there he was as a full grown man. His eyes looked hazier and even more unfocused than before. Whatever happened in Kuroyuri was fading out of his system and letting the poison attack his system again. Even worse, they were about to delay even further.

Red eyes shifted around quickly, looking at the surrounding without taking much in, before closing a drifting back off into much-needed sleep.

Ruby placed a kiss on the top of his head before turning to her teammate.

"Be safe.", Was all that was said before Ruby grabbed the edges of her cloak and zoomed off in a burst of red rose petals.

* * *

Qrow was having a dream. Or, less like a dream and more like a memory. He could numbly feel his body in his fevered delusion, both existing within the realm of sleep and reality.

 _It started with a call on his Scroll._

 _It was just after 9PM and he was still stuck at Signal grading papers. He didn't expect the brats in his class to like the assignment so much but the man could only read and grade so fast. One student managed to write twenty pages explaining some pretty creative uses of Dust and Combative Pyrotechnics. The concept of killing Grimm with fireworks was pretty cool, but not twenty pages of small black print cool._

 _He tried scribbling A's on everyones papers in the past, only to be confronted by the Signal Headmaster about why he wrote an "A+" on a students gag paper about the weaponization of mayonaise. That had been the end of that._

 _A pair of store-bought reading glasses sat on his face as he doodled a "B-" on another paper. Birds had keen eyes but age and the tiny scrall of 15 year olds had taken its toll. Maybe he was due for some time off of teaching._

 _Happy to see that was his last one, he grabbed Ruby's paper. He wasn't sure when he started doing it, but putting Ruby's assignments aside to be graded last was a little habit of his. Something to put him in a good mood before he left out for a night of glaring contests with Tai, mediating fights between Tai and his daughter while comforting both girls after, and overthinking his semblance. He usually goaded Yang out of hassling her father be secretly telling her information about Rae. Not the best method, but it worked._

 _Ruby always hated seeing anyone argue. For a girl who loved combat and killing monsters, she sure couldn't handle domestic fighting. When Yang and her father got into it, Ruby would hole up in her room and curl up in the corner. After doing his best to settled their fight, he would grab Yang and drag Ruby into playing video games together. Mario Party always worked the best bet for occasion like that._

 _And for when it was between Taiyang and himself, the two adults would always alternate in who went and apologized to Ruby for scaring her. The first time she saw them fight, the argument was quickly squashed when they both caught sight of her teary face lingering in the kitchen door way. She ended up locking herself in her room and wouldn't talk to either of them for hours._

 _From then on, Tai and himself had tried their best to get along better. Nothing motivated them quite like the girls did._

 _Scanning over the paper on "Bullet Recoil and its Application in Combat", Qrow smiles to himself. All of Ruby's assignments were usually covered in doodles, and this one was no different. Adorable pictures of her rocketing off Grimm and dismembering them with Crescent Rose littered the margines, as well as an "I love you, Uncle Qrow!" surrounded by hearts and a childishly drawn crow at the last page. Never failed to warm his heart, even if it stung just a little bit._

 _He quickly added a sarcastic critque to each drawing and wrote a tidy "A" at the top of the first page._

 _Cracking his back, Qrow stood up and straightened out his clothes. He debated flying straight back to the house or heading into the city to pick Ruby up and take the ferry to the island. She needed bullets, and had a favorite shoppe to buy dust and the destructive 50 caliber blast rounds she used in her combat-style. So she grabbed some money from him after class and took a ship to the mainland. The young girl might have already been home by this time, it was pretty dark out by now. Qrow grabbed his Scroll to shoot her a text asking if she was still in Vale..._

 _Only to see a number of missed calls and unread texts from Tai. Skipping over reading them, he opted to call the man._

 _"Qrow?", Taiyang's voice echoed through the phone with a tint of panic._

 _"Yep, that's me. What's up? Just missed the sound of my voice, I'm guessing."_

 _"Shut up, Jackass.", he remarked in an annoyed tone. "Listen, have you heard from Ruby? She's usually home by now, or at least sends me a message... I'm starting to really worry. Yang can't reach her either."_

 _A few red flags rose into mind, but pushed them down. Ruby was far to tough for anything to harm her, let alone some petty criminal of the night. She was probably just looking at new rounds for her scythe. Though, it was new of her to not update them where she was at all times._

 _"I gave her some money to go to Vale after class. She's probably still shopping or something. I'm packing up now so I'll go collect her.", he heard Tai sigh into the reciever making that obnoxious crackling noise in his ear._

 _"...Thanks Qrow. Let me know when you find her." Click._

 _"Bye to you too, asshole.", Shoving his Scroll into his back pocket and grabbed his weapon and bag. Leaving after the massive broad sword was affixed to its magnetic holster, he headed towards the port._

 _The whole situation was so much easier on Tai then himself. But, that man did fall in to his role with honesty and intgrety. He couldn't hate him for caring so earnestly about Ruby. And Tai rarely over-stepped the unspoken boundry of being Ruby's father and impeading Qrow's natural authority for the girl's wellbeing. That didn't stop the two of them from not getting along, though. Taiyang placed a lot of blame for everything and his back, and Qrow really didn't say other wise. Most of it was his fault._

 _By the time he got out of the hospital, Ruby was well situated under Tai's care and with everything else, Qrow knew it was for the best._

 _He was about 10 minutes from the port when his Scroll went off. The ringtone was a younger Ruby and Yang singing some upbeat pop song off key. He'd caught them belting it out together one morning and couldn't resist the blackmail. It had been his ringtone ever since._

 _He half expected it to be Taiyang again, sputtering some panicked words about how late it was getting and completely forgetting that Ruby was an A+ student at a combat school and could very well take care of any scary thing thrown her way. However, he was a bit shocked to see "Oz" pop up on his screen with the ID picture of the Headmaster with coffee spilt all over himself. That had been a fun day in his Beacon years. Pressing a finger over the answer button, Qrow brought the phone up to his ear._

 _"'Sup Oz?", Qrow said casually, stepping into line at the ticket booth for the 9:30PM ferry. "New mission?"_

 _"Hello Qrow. I'm afraid no missions at the moment. I have a few I'll reviewing before I send you off. In the meantime, I'm sure you are enjoying your job, Professer Branwen?", The lilting voice of Ozpin sounded through the phone._

 _"Eh. Brats aren't so bad. You got some evil geniuses heading your way in a few years that for sure.", As much as Qrow loved to banter, he was a bit confused to purpose of the phone call. If there was no missions, why was Oz calling? "So, what's up?"_

 _"Well, I do have one small tidbit of information before me that I'd like to question you about.", He not quite sure why his chest starts feeling tight, but he doesn't like it._

 _"Shoot. I haven't done anything too bad lately."_

 _"I don't believe this falls into the 'lately' catagory, but the reports from the Signal Headmaster adds an asterisk to that statement.", Ozpin laughed._

 _"Don't ramp me up like this, man. Just ask me. 'Bout to board a boat and I'll lose signal."_

 _"A boat? Whatever for? It's getting a bit late out for adventuring."_

 _"Kid-hunting. Taiyang's daughter stayed out too late and he's freakin' out.", Years of practice made his voice come out casual and conversational._

 _"How fascinating. But, I'm not sure your discretion is necessary."_

 _"What do you mean by that?"_

 _He could hear as Ozpin cleared his throat. "How do I ask this gently?"_

 _"Ask what, Oz."_

 _"Well.", If Qrow listened hard enough, he could hear Glynda talking in the background._

 _Qrow stepped out of the ticket line, he'll just fly to Vale if need be._

 _"Ruby Rose has just been enrolled into my academy. Is there anything you'd like to share, Qrow?"_

 _"Oz.", He wasn't ready for this. Ruby wasn't ready for this._

 _"Perhaps you'd like to stop by and pick up, young miss Rose? She got into a scuffle with a few criminals. She's unharmed but it has to have been a long night for her."_

 _"I'll be there in 30 minutes.", Qrow slammed his finger against the end call button. Face blank as he shifted into a bird and jetted off towards Beacon, ignoring the shocked look of the port patrons._

 _He flew in through the window. It had been left open for him as per usual and he dropped down into human form in front of Oz's desk. First thing he noticed was Glynda wasn't in the room, and it was kinda odd to see the Headmaster without her. Second thing was a steaming cup of coffee on the desk before him. A few creamer cups and sugar packets were laid next to it._

 _"Hello Qrow.", He greeted, clearly doing his best to difuse the tension radiating from himself. "Coffee?"_

 _Qrow wordlessly grabbed the cup, dumping three of both cream and sugar into it. His flask was in his bag and he didn't feel being inebriated would help his cause very much. Other than that, he would quite love a drink at the moment._

 _"Don't do this, Oz.", Qrow asked in a low, but serious tone._

 _"Qrow. I have seldom let you down. You've followed me through thick and thin. You more than deserve anything you request. However, this is one thing I can not obilge you with.", Ozpin crossed his hands together, resting his chin on the bridge._

 _His former student was stiff as a board, and clearly unable to speak at this. He sighed, talking a sip of his coffee and sending a glance to the red-eyed man._

 _"I understand this is a serious cause to you, and why you hid it. But their movements have become far to active for me to let this pass by. We need her abilities.", Qrow physically winced at the wording. The subject was still too sore, and that wound would never close. "I'll protect her, Qrow. Personally. Please don't fret, but Ruby Rose is a vital knight in our movement."_

 _"I trust you, Oz. I just didn't want her in this life at all. I had to accept it when she harrassed Tai and I for weeks so she could go to Signal. Then immediately followed it with the desire to come here. I... wanted her to be older. She's not ready for any of this.", It was up to him to tell her about all of this. And he would only do it when it was of the upmost importance or if he felt Ruby was ready._

 _"I won't inform her of everything right off the bat, Qrow. And we will continue to shelter her existence until she is ready."_

 _Qrow sighed, resigned. He was terrifed beyond belief. He remebers the Headmaster asking if Ruby had inherited the Silver Eye abilities shortly after she was born, and they lied without hesitation. Summer never wanted this for her daughter either, and so the two of them built the false identity of Ruby Rose in an effort to save her from the darkness that crowded the world. Protection from all the evils that shadowed Summer and himself._

 _He couldn't spit off all the concerns on his tongue. His trust for Ozpin was unwavering but this was one piece he was hesitant in giving. They would talk about this more when he came to collect next mission. Plus, the argument with Tai when he went home was weighing on his mind. Hopefully, he can get Oz to call and explain it to the equally over-protective caretaker of Ruby._

 _"So... Where's Glynda?", He remarked offhandly, tossing back the rest of his coffee while it was till warm._

 _"Offering Miss Rose a tour. I'll send for her in a moment. I just had one more question for you, if you don't mind?"_

 _"Shoot.", What could possibly follow that conversation._

 _"I was unaware Mister Xiao Long and the Late Miss Rose had that sort of relationship.", Qrow choked on his spit and started coughing. "Why was that bit of camoflauge needed, Qrow? Our enemies have long been aware of the Rose last name. I can't imagine the need for such discresion."_

 _"Uh. Well. Multiple reasons. Complicated ones?"_

 _"Just curious. I'll keep that cover for you. I had always known Summer and yourself to been quite close."_

 _"Yea well. Look how that turned out for her.", Came out of his mouth in a bitter mutter. Ozpin looked at him sympathetically but didn't remark any further. He knew better by now than to breach that particular subject._

 _"Well then, 'Uncle Qrow', shall I call for Miss Rose then?"_

 _They sat in silence as Ozpin messaged his assistant to bring in Ruby._

 _A few moments later, the door was shotgunned open as said girl launched into a tackle hug towards her Uncle. Qrow just fanned his arms out and grabbed her before she plummeted into the tile floor. Her excited rambling flew over his head as placed her on the ground and ruffled her hair. It hurt his heart to see just how happy she was about the early enrollment, innocent in the face of naiviety. Of what path was set in front of her._

 _"I've readied a ship to bring you two home. You've got a lot of preparing to do, Miss Rose. I look forward to seeing you again at the Initiation."_

 _After the airship ride down to Patch, Qrow remained quite for the rest of the night. Taiyang had already received a call from the Headmaster regarding Ruby and just shot his former teammate a look before congratulating her with false cheer._

 _The next few days would be filled with insomnia, arguing, and school supplies shopping._

* * *

Jaune sat down under a tree across from Qrow. The older man was twitching in his sleep and kinda starting to creep him out with the incoherent mumbling he was doing. The noise though, was easier to focus on then straining his ears trying to catch any hint of his teammates battle. The only thing he could hear from this distance was the soft boom of Nora's grenade launcher. He wasn't sure if he imagined the few sounds of Ruby's sniper, but trying to hear any of it was driving him crazy. It had already been over an hour since she left.

He hated being left behind. Memories of Pyrrha shoving him into the locker and never seeing her again sat heavily on his mind. He was still the weak link of the party, but that didn't mean Ren or Nora or even Ruby with her crazy eye powers were invincible. They could die in something as insignificant as a Grimm battle.

Idly pulling grass out of the ground, Jaune lamented while keeping a keen eye on Qrow. He could at least do that much from this far. Watching as the huntsmen blearily opened one of his eyes and looked around. The gaze landed on him, a question in his eyes.

"Ruby went to go help Ren and Nora. I don't know when they'll be back.", He said offhandedly, assuming that was his worry.

He recieved an affirmative grunt from the man. So that was what he was wondering.

"So...", Jaune remarked awkwardly. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

Qrow shook his head, leaning forward. "Nah, a drink maybe? Doubt you got one of those though."

"Nope... Well let me know if you need something?", God, this was weird.

"How far out are we, kid?", Qrow asked between heavy breathes, looking pale and sickly.

"Oh! We're about 40 miles from Kuroyuri. Ruby used her semblance to go back and help them as quick as she could.", Jaune sighed. "It's been about an hour and I can still hear them fighting."

To this, Qrow kept silent. All of his energy focused on staying awake. No strength remained in his body, and any thought was fleeting but his worry for the kids was prevalent in his mind. The blond one was fidgeting across from him, probably overthinking whatever responsiblity was assigned to him. He could see the kid pondering over stupid shit like conversation topics or first-aid that Qrow really didnt want administered by that him.

"So...", And here comes the idle chat. "Are you like a Faunus or something?"

Qrow cocked his head, vexed by the question. People asked him that kinda shit all the time but for some reason he thought he would be asked a heavier question.

"Uhh... Not quite? It's more like a piece of me. That happens to be animal-related."

"Oh. Cool?", This was just painful.

Eager to get out of any small talk, Qrow leaned back against the tree behind him. The bark was scratchy and he could feel bits of it get into his matted hair. Nasty. "Gonna kick back some more. Lemme know when my kid gets back."

"Your kid?", Jaune asked keenly, he didn't forget the conversation overheard in Kuroyuri. This could be a vital clue.

"Ruby. I was the one to train her, y'know. Mentor, Uncle and all that jazz."

"Oh yea.", He sighed, rebuffed. But, that did open an oppurtunity for improvement of himself. This guy was a teacher, and if the sheer talent in combat Ruby displayed was any hint to his capabilities, then that made Qrow a damn good person to learn from. After they were sure he was recovered from the posion, he'd ask about some training.

Another moment of silence passed, Qrow drifting in and out of sleep. He wanted to knock back out before achohol withdraws slammed through his already fucked-up system and he died just from those.

Gunfire ceased from the direction Ruby had taken off in, leaving an uncomfortable few seconds of silence before a barrage of pained screeches echoed out. The treetops seemed to shake in the distance as whatever beast they had been fighting met its end.

And with its death, a plume of thick black smoke rose up in into the grey skies, looking similar to a hand reaching up to grab Heaven. Jaune gaped at soot cloud watching it disipate into nothingness.

Hopefully everyone was safe. The battle felt like it had lasted an eternity and he wasn't even there.

Airships rushed over head, toward the faded Darkness and the sensation of relief was tentively reaching into his heart. He couldn't feel completely at ease yet. He needed to see his friends, they needed to get Qrow to a hospital.

Then all would be right.

* * *

Taiyang never truly understood how hard raising children would be until Yang hit her teens. Before it was just his two precious baby girls in sundresses covered in mud, and cartoons on T.V. all day.

He remembered when the two of them shared a bath and remembered when they started arguing about the other hogging the bathroom. Ruby had been terrified of the tub drain growing up, so she and Yang bathed together until she grew out of it. To this day he still had no idea why, but it was just one of many odd irrational childhood fears kids had. Like Yang thought she would be electrocuted if she showered during a lightning storm. She held that superstition to this day, even if she wouldn't admit to it. Both of them were still adorable no matter how much they drove him crazy.

When Yang had turned thirteen, the curious questions about Raven had turned into full blown arguments. And by that, it was mostly his daughter yelling at him while he tried to calm her down and divert the subject. Her explosive personality helped, letting her burn bright for a short while and then she would go play some video games or something to calm down and offer a low-key apology. Tai would wake up and the dishes would be done, or breakfast set on the table for Ruby, Qrow, and himself.

The fighting stopped entirely after Yang received her acceptance letter from Beacon. Pouring herself entirely into combat, frequent visits to the gym to mutilate a heavy bag, and book studies alongside her sister. Life settled into a blissful calm.

Then the Fall of Beacon, his daughter's grievous injury, and Ruby heading off into the unknown shattered the warm life they had been living.

Talking with Yang last night ended up better than he thought it would, but this morning made him wish for the fiery dragon shouting at him back.

No doubt she was behaving calmer and more level-headed after the tragedy at Beacon, but his daughter was using it for the worst reason.

To annoy her father.

All morning, Yang had been giving her dad the silent treatment. When he asked her if anything was the matter, she responded with "I don't feel like sharing right now.", with a barely concealed grin on her face.

The message was clear, she was trying to use his own game to irk him and prove a point. Any attempt at conversation was met with a one word answer or a hum.

"So, we're almost to the port.", Taiyang mentioned, trying to be nonchalant.

"Mhm.", Yang mumbled. Her gaze focused out onto the approaching port.

"We should fill up the bike when we get off the boat.", The loudspeaker binged, a robotic voice speaking over Tai announcing they would be in port shortly.

"Alright."

"We can head straight into Mistral and start asking around for your sister."

"Sounds good."

Sighing in defeat for the nth time that day, the huntsman sulked away. Instead to trying and failing to communicate with his child, he opted to head for the cargo bay. The motorcycle was placed in at the last minute so he would have to unload it quickly or else other may not be able to grab their luggage. Or risk a crew member pulling it off and leaving it to the side, allowing any shifty character to hijack it. Then they'd really be in trouble.

He was the only one in heavy storage while they pulled into port, and offloaded the bike himself while Yang checked her ticket and strolled off with their luggage and Zwei.

Map in hand, he sat atop Bumblebee going over their planned route and eyeing the gas station that was a few yards into the town. Might as well pick up a few snacks while he was at it. Yang had been eating like a monster for the last two days and Taiyang worried for what may happen if she ran out of things to munch on while miles and miles away from civilization.

His daughter jogged her way over, the family dog curled up in her arms, and threw a leg over the motorcycle to sit down. She nodded her head forward, signaling she was ready to go while still managing to not talk with Tai. Rolling his eyes, Tai pressed the ignition switch and drove into the gas station.

Yang stayed on the bike as he went inside, grabbing an entire display of granola bars, two packs of cherry Twizzlers, several bags of gummies covered in sour sugar, and a few bags of marshmallows just in case they had to camp for a night. Realistically, they shouldn't need this many snacks but better to be safe than sorry.

Tossing some Lien on the counter, he thanked the attendent and walked out to see Yang already pumping the gas. Smiling softly, he puts the newly aquired eats into their luggage, leaving out a bag of sour gummy worms for immediate snacking. And after his daughter finished with the gas, they drove off prepared to begin their search of Mistral.

Quickly, the sky turned dark above them. Storm clouds had rolled in during the afternoon and it was getting hard and harder to dodge the adorable woodland creatures that popped up in the headlights without a second warning. Yang pouted when stopping was suggested. Tai didn't really blame her, the quicker they landed int the City of Mistral the quicker they could start the search for Ruby. And maybe give Qrow a good punch in the jaw, just out of principal.

So they didn't stop, Taiyang fears he may have hit a rabbit, Yang completely ignores his worry and pops open the last bag of sour gummies.

Soon enough, the city came into sight. Dawn was rising in the sky and both his daughter and himself were bone tired. He was nearly passing out onto the handle bars. Zwei was lucky, tucked between the two of them napping for nearly the entire ride. They'd have to grab a hotel room before even considering their search.

Locking and parking Bumblebee felt like an eternity, Yang was already dragging herself into the airconditioned hotel with Zwei padding behind her happily.

He checked them in, one room with two beds just like the boat. As well as paying the insanely high pet fee (he'd look for a cheaper hotel in tomorrow).

The room itself was grand. Warm earth tones, the sun light streaming in such a picture-perfect way the tan fluffy conforter looked like a piece of Heaven, a gift from the God of Creation themself. Felt like it too as he ragdolled face first onto the sheets.

Yang must have gone into the shower right away, their luggage spread out carelessly on the floor and missing her haircare supplies and favorite pajamas. A shower does sound nice. Maybe he'll stay awake for a little longer and order up some room service before knocking out for a while. Peeling himself off the mattress, he grabbed the food service menu from the nightstand and started to read.

He'd wait until Yang finished with her shower before ordering, he had no idea what she was in the mood for, but now he had plenty of time to scan over the menu.

"Hey Yang! They have those malasada things you and Ruby have been going on about. Y'know, from that game you play?", Tai shouted out. Hoping for more than a one word answer while showing his daughter he listened to her interests, a good strategy.

"Okay!", Rang out from the bathroom. Swing and a miss.

"Would you like me to order some?", He brought most of his savings on this trip, he could swing for some pastries, even if Yang was being difficult.

"Yea!", Uuuuuuuggggghhhh. Taiyang was a person who naturally loved talking. An Extrovert. To him, this was utter torture.

He sat in silence the rest of the time his kid spend in the bathroom. He'd read the menu over several times before Yang appeared with a cloud of steam pillowing out of the door behind her.

Wordlessly, he handed her the menu. Ordering some sweets was fine, but considering all the candy they ate on the way in, she needed a good balanced meal. He had decided what he was getting somewhere during the 3rd readover. Taking a deep breath in, Taiyang turned towards his daughter.

"So are you seriously gonna not talk to me?", He asks.

"Are you seriously gonna not gonna tell me about you and Uncle Qrow?", Yang shot back, putting the menu down and glaring at her father. "Like you just started talking about Mom and now I learn you have all these issues with Qrow too?"

"Yang, it's-", Tai began but was swiftly cut off.

"No! It's not 'complicated', Dad!", Her eyes flashed colors, and she was standing now. "This is our family. My family! I'm allowed to know what's happening with everyone. I'm tired of NOT knowing what's happening!"

She was teary-eyed now, and it was hard to look at. Even so, this wasn't the place and time to discuss everything.

"Yang. You're right.", He let out a deep sigh, motioning her to sit back down. She did. "But there's a lot to cover in that topic. Our household had never been the normal in any sense. Hell, I was more your mom, Qrow was more your dad, Raven's vanishing, and well Summer..."

"Nothing's ever easy for us. And even though you're a Xiao Long, you're a Branwen too. I shouldn't keep hiding stuff from you but... Some things will just need some time, okay?"

"Okay... What can you tell me?", Her voice was soft, tenative.

"Well. How about when I met your mom and uncle? Is that a good place to start?", Not exactly the most revealing tale but it gave a lot of context to the relationship of the Branwen Twins and himself.

Crossing her legs on the bed and leaning forward, Yang looked thrilled to hear the tale of her parents team forming. She grabbed the hotel phone and dialed down to the kitchen. Tai wanted Zha Jiang Mian, Yang ordered an entire meat-lovers pizza, and then the Malasada's for them to share. It felt like it was gonna be a long story, and every story was best told over a warm meal.

"It all started with the airship ride to Beacon for my first year there...", Tai began.

* * *

 _He was gonna throw up. It was just gonna happen._

 _Between the loud chattering and shouting of other rowdy 17 year olds, the terrifying heights, and the airships unstable back and forth rocking, he was gonne vomit up everything he'd eaten in the last 24 hours. The loudspeaker announced that they would be stopping in Vale for a night, due to turbulence. The skys looked green with the severe storm that was pounding down on them. Other kids were huddled up by the emergency doors, or looking nervously out the window. A few would scream when a bolt of lightning cracked down._

 _The ship glided in for landing in the City of Vale, and Taiyang could literally feel the contents of his stomach slosh with the movement._

 _Teachers and their assistances walked into the bay holding all the students and ushered them out to a shoddy bus that had been prepared in the nick of time. Due to the suprise landing, they couldn't prepare enough transport to the hotel and he was now feeling even sicker as he was shoved between two other students and standing in the aisle of the bus._

 _He could here a girls voice, powerful and commanding, shouting at the people who bumped in to her while pushing them twice as hard out of her way. The action caused everyone to be swayed in every direction as the girl decided more and more people were in her personal bubble. Tai craned his neck around to get a good look at the trouble maker._

 _Red eyes glared immediately as he looked over and on instinct, he flinched back. Tentively, he side-eyed her as her yelling and shove-fest continued._

 _She had wild, unbrushed black hair that was in every direction at once. Who ever this was looked damn near feral as she growled and snapped at everyone near her._

 _"Ms. Branwen!", Finally, a teacher. Professor Goodwitch strode forward through the cluster of students. "I understand we are all feeling a bit cramped in here. We will be arriving at the hotel in a few short moments, so if you could keep your hands to yourself for just a bit longer..."_

 _The girl looked like she was gonna yell back, hand on the massive sword around her side. A tap on her shoulder halted the motion. A boy behind her called for her attention, the two looked a bit alike. He shook his head, gesturing her to stop without saying at word. At the end of the exchange, the girl crossed her arms and stared down the boy._

 _Professor Goodwitch hummed and turned around, heading back to the front of the bus._

 _The next minutes went on quietly as the bus pulled into a fairly nice hotel and all the students filed out of the bus. Everyone was checked for attendance before briefed on how this was going to work._

 _"Students will be assigned rooms. Each room has a bed and a couch, so 3 students will be in a room.", Glynda announced, looking at a checklist. "Boys will be on the sixth floor, and girls on the seventh."_

 _"Raven Branwen, Summer Rose, and Hyzenthlay Scarlentia. Room 725.", Taiyang watched as the tough girl from the bus strode up and grabbed the room key from Glynda's hand without waiting for her roommates to even step forward._

 _"Daifuku Daichi, Jonathan Thrush, and William Winchester. Room 664.", Glynda went on, handing keycards out as groups of three came to claim them from her. Tai could only sit back and wait._

 _"Taiyang Xiao Long.", Finally. He wanted to go lay down and sleep away the rest of this motion sickness. "...and Qrow Branwen. Room 666. And it appears you two are the last boys to be assigned a room. Enjoy the extra space."_

 _Branwen... So he's that girl's brother? Maybe cousin? His large family all shared the name Xiao Long. And they're in the same grade, so it had to be either twins or cousins._

 _Regardless of how they were related, Taiyang was still feeling wary of bunking with him. If this Crow guy was anything like his family, it was gonna be a long night._

"One sec.", Yang spoke up, halting the story. "Didn't you like mom? It seems more like you thinks she's a bitc-."

"Don't finish that sentence, young lady.", Taiyang said sternly. He wasn't gonna let his girls speak like thugs. They had a very full swear jar at home in Patch, that was filled with most of Qrow's hunstman salary. Yang was usually one for safe language, but slipped when Ruby wasn't around. Ruby herself on the otherhand emulated Qrow in too many ways, and had dropped more than her fair share into the jar.

"Well, that's how it's sounding to me.", She shrugged her shoulders, biting into a greasy slice of pizza.

"Raven and I... We didn't fall in love at first sight. It was something gradual. It was tough just to become friends with her at first.", He joked, leaning back on his bed. "Plus didn't I say how I met both your mom and uncle? I haven't even gotten to her yet!"

"Then story-tell faster. I wanna hear all the good stuff.", With an evil grin, she motioned for him to continue.

"I'm story-telling as fas as I can.", Tai whined, but resumed with his story.

 _The elevator ride to the sixth floor may have just been the most awkward experience in his life. On one side, William Winchester was raving on about his terrible first experience with Beacon and about how "his father would be calling the board about all of this". Taiyang wanted to punch him and his posh accent right out of the elevator. While it was moving, preferibly._

 _And on the other, Qrow Branwen stares intently at the wall. It was starting to weird him out how quiet and stiff this guy was. He was practically melted into the corner of the elevator, even when there was plenty of space for the all to stand, and nervously fidgeting with the ends of a ratty red scarf around his neck._

 _To the average eye, the boy probably could appear deep in thought but Taiyang knew anxiety when he saw it. It was written all over him, even though his face looked blank._

"Uncle Qrow? Anxious? Are we talking about the same guy?", Yang blurted out, interupting the story. Again.

"I know. It's weird to think about.", Tai sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the bedspread. "He was a really different person before team STRQ. Back to the story. Think of him kinda like your friend Blake? But different, of course. Now hush. Back to the story."

 _"Hey.", Tai gestured to Qrow, waving a hand in front of him. "My name's Taiyang. Nice to meet you."_

 _He figured being friendly would be the best option. This guy already seemed to be pretty different from the Raven girl from the bus._

 _Upon recieving no recognition from him, Tai continued to try. "Your name's Crow, right? Pretty neat name. Is everyone in your family named after birds?", He inwardly cringed at how that came out._

 _To that, Qrow gave him a confused look then turned away quickly to resume his staring into space. He pulled the red scarf just under his nose._

 _"That came out weird... Haha... So we'll be rooming together? Do you wanna take the bed? I'm chill with the-", Suddenly, the elevator lurched. Lights flickered before shutting down completely. The lift stopped completely as a green emergency light switched on._

 _In the erie glow, he could see Qrow tap his head against the metal wall of the elevator and hear an annoyed groan accompany the motion. Puzzled, but more focused on the fact he was stuck in a powerless deathbox with four other people, of which William was already panicking in a rather annoying fashion. Daifuku looked at the display with equal annoyance to himself. Jonathan was mimicking anothing Will was doing and Tai just felt like dying at that very moment._

 _"Students. Please stop panicking. The power has been temporarily knocked out from the storm. Until then, please stay in your rooms. If you are still on the main floor, use the stairs to proceed. A teacher will be at each stairwell to guide you. Those who were misforturnate enough to be caught in the elevator. Generators are being set up, but a mantience employee will be by shortly to help you out.", Professor Glynda's voice chimed over the emergency speakers._

 _A few minutes passed before help arrived and each teen was helped out of the elevator. It was stuck just a few feet down from the fifth floor so everyone had to hop out and go up one flight of stairs till they arrived at their rooms._

 _The trek in the dark shouldn't have been difficult for the huntsman trainees but apparently a dark stairwell was a greater challenge was for them than any Grimm could be._

 _Will's shoelace had managed to untie itself and he tripped, knocking all the rest of them including the teacher down to the bottom leaving only Qrow standing on the steps. What really annoyed Tai though, is that guy just stood there. Didn't come down to help them, them proceeded to walk up the stairs and leave them in a heap on the ground. He didn't even have the key on him! Tai had it._

 _After struggling back up, Tai stomped up the stairs, glaring angrily down the hall at Qrow standing outside of the room._

 _"Hey!", Tai shouted. "Why didn't you come help us when we fell?!"_

 _Qrow remained silent, face half buried in his scarf. Face blank and posture slack against the door frame. Tai sighed, face hot with annoyance and anger but he clearly wasn't gonna get an answer from Mr. Stoick guy._

 _Ignoring the static shock that hit his arm when he touched the door handle, he pressed the key up to the door and when inside. Qrow followed behind him._

 _He childishly threw himself onto the plush bed. He fell down the stairs, was shoved more times then he could count, and was forces to room with Quietguy McAsshole, he deserved some good rest in a comfy bed. A shower would have to wait until the power was back up._

 _His temporary roommate settled down on the couch, contently laying back without a word of protest at Tai snagging the bed._

 _Another thirty minutes later and the lights flickered back on. Various students cheers rang out through the hall as the sound of the A/C unit kicked on. Taiyang immediately reached out of the remote, eager to fill up the awkward silence in the room._

"Still not seeing any reason to hate him though, all that stuff was just his semblance and you know he can't control that.", His daughter sing-songed, throwing a piece of crust into the bin before grabbing another slice. "I lived my childhood with dishes slipping out of my hand and my cookies always fell into the milk when I pulled them out of the glass."

"Well, I didn't know it was his semblance back then. I just thought he was some jerk sabataging my life. In a way, he is. Just commiting the sabatage on accident.", Tai joked. "Over the years, I just kinda got used to it. It wasn't until Raven yelled at him over something stupid that I learned."

"I wanna hear that story next."

"You'll hear everything one story at a time. All good stories in moderation."

 _Flipping on the news, Tai relished in the sound of some random guy talking about the weather. The words "worst storm of the season" and a headline saying "downtown Vale left without power" came from the TV. His roommate startled a bit at the sudden noise, looking at the television before laying back down on the couch. What a weirdo._

 _Reaching for his bag, Tai pulled out his near-dead Scroll and placed it on the charging terminal build into the nightstand._

 _Sprawling back on the bed, eyed the empty bed on the other side of the room. He'd forgotten there was meant to be three people in a room. His roommate had no need to stay on the couch. Sighing deeply, he pulled himself up._

 _"Hey, Crow? There's another bed-", His gesture had been cut short by a rapid banging on the door._

 _"QROW!", It was the girl from the bus' voice. Raven, her name was. "Qrow! Open the door."_

 _He watched as the other boy stood up, walking towards the door and turning the handle open. As expected, the open door revealed Raven Branwen, backlit from the hall light he red eyes looked like they glowed. It was honestly quite scary, if Tai was honest. He really hadn't taken a second to look at either of them before now._

 _"Well?", Raven said, making a "shoo" motion with her hand and Qrow stepped out of the way to let her in. As she strolled in, Tai watched her shove a hefty bag into the boys arms. There was a clacking noise everytime the canvas was moved. It sounded as if it was stuffed full of rocks. Qrow dipped slightly under the weight of it before wordlessly putting it down neatly in a corner of the room._

 _Raven sauntered further into the room. On her shoulder, she carried a brown rough-looking leather satchel. Red and black beads decorated it, along with some crows feathers and small animal skulls. Pulling off, she tossed it onto the remaining bed in the room. Tai tried not to cough as dust pillowed up from the bag._

 _"Uh... What are you doing?", Tai asked, trying to find his voice._

 _Raven glanced at him. A nonplussed look in her eyes before she scoffed and resumed dumping the contents of her satchel on the bed. Taiyang hesitated for a second, his brain not processing the situation as quickly as it should._

 _"Rooms on this floor are for boys only.", He said, as it became increasingly apparent this woman was planning to spend the night in their room. "Glynda and the other teachers might do room checks. We'll get in trouble."_

 _Halting in her junk sifting, Raven refocused on the blond boy. "Well, in that case, I'm a frightened little girl whose scared of being in a new place and want to spend the night with my baby brother.", Her tone was sarcastic and no-nonsense at the same time._

 _Tai stared, dumbfounded as she grabbed a brush and what Tai could only assume was pajamas, then began to make her way to the bathroom._

 _"Well, I mean. Your brother was here first. He should get the bed at least.", Part of his brain was fine with offering the lady a more comfortable place to sleep but this? She was just as rude as her brother._

 _In response, Raven just started laughing and clicked the bathroom door shut behind her._

 _"Dude.", He was at a loss for words. "We're seriously gonna get in trouble with Glynda. Can you tell your sister to leave or at least ask permission?"_

 _"Nope.", Was the muffled response from Qrow, who he now noticed was back on the couch, face down in the cushions._

 _Balling his fist, Taiyang took a deep breath and walked back to his bed. A chime came from his scroll. A notice from Beacon._

 _'Dear Student (TAIYANG XIAO LONG),_

 _Teachers and Teacher Assistances will be around shortly to hand out dinner for the night. Due to the high volume of students in such a short time, we will only be able to provide; Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches and Ham & Cheese Sandwiches. We apologize for these dining options. For the trouble, all students will recieve one Premium Meal Voucher to use anytime throughout their semester at Beacon. _

_All Students will be required to be in the Hotel Conference Room by 7am to resume passage to Beacon. An alarm has already been sent to your scrolls for 5am. Please be dressed and ready._

 _Thank you,_

 _Glynda Goodwitch.'_

 _"Man. A teachers gonna be by any minute now.", Tai groaned, shifting his head to watch the door for a meager sandwich._

 _Soon enough, a knock was heard and Taiyang couldn't have moved faster to get the door. Some TA he didn't recognize came to the door._

 _"Would you gentleman like Peanut Butter, or Ham and Cheese Sandwiches?", The TA asked, toting a cooler behind him._

 _Looking at Qrow face down in the couch and the steam flowing out from the bathroom, Tai just decided to choose for them. A nice ham and cheese sounded good right now._

 _"Uh. Can I get one of each?", The TA nodded and handed him two sandwiches. "A-actually? Can get one more? I'm really hungry."_

 _"One per student... However, I have a few extra for the Ham and Cheese. Here you go, young man.", The TA kindly handed him the extra meal along with a two cans of Cola._

 _Thanking the man profusely, Tai closed the door behind him and deposited the food onto his bed. He grabbed a can of soda and a Ham sandwich and brought it over to Qrow. Cruelly, he placed the ice cold can on his roommates neck and watched him startled up with a hand on his broadsword._

 _Tai rolled his eyes, not impressed. He tossed the food into Qrow's lap. "Food. I even managed to get an extra sandwich for your sister."_

 _Qrow observed the plastic-wrapped food with caution before unwrapping it and taking a bite._

 _A moment after Raven stepped out of the bathroom. She had on black, ratty pajamas and her mass of hair in the weird towel thing girls do._

 _Wordlessly, he handed her the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich and she scoffed. Immediately ripping the plastic open she took a bite and spit it out onto the rug. "Eugh."_

 _"Hey, blond guy!", Raven yelled, gesturing to Tai with the sandwich in hand. "Trade with me."_

 _"What? No! And it's Taiyang! Taiyang Xiao Long.",Tai stood up and yelled , first he lost room, now she wanted his sandwich? "If you hate it so much, trade with your brother!"_

 _"Well, Qrow?", She looked to him expectantly. He sighed, handing over the sandwich. She smirked at his despondant look. "I tried, better than nothing."_

 _Gods, these people were so weird. Tai watched in confusion as Qrow threw the PB &J in the bin. _

_"He's allergic, for clarification.", Raven smirked, taking a big bite out of Qrow's dinner. "That's why I asked you first."_

 _"W-wha- WHY? What the hell is wrong with you!?", Tai shreiked. Weirdness with the Branwen Twins has reach a new high. What kind of dumb, animalistic pecking order did these people have?_

 _"What a loud one.", Raven remarked offhandly, taking a sip out of Qrow's soda before handing it back to him._

 _Groaning loudly, Tai polished off the rest of his sandwich and threw himself onto the bed. No more. He couldn't deal with anymore today._

"And then, I went to bed.", Tai finished lamely, flopping back dramatically into the cushie mattress.

"'Sides the lame ending, that really was a shitty first meeting. Holy shit, dad. Not that you helped. You shoulda just let Qrow and Raven be weird and ignored it.", Yang said with a disapproving tone.

"Yang. My daughter, who has know me all her life, you know that even to this day I am incapable of ignoring the enviroment around me.", Tai put a hand on his chest melodramatically.

"True. Also I never knew Uncle Qrow was allergic to peanuts."

"Have you ever seen him eat them?", Tai asked, picking up his chopsticks and grabbing a casual bite of noodles.

"Now that I think of it, no. Wow. The more you know, I guess?", Yang laid back on her bed, letting out a big yawn. All that pizza and now the food coma set in.

"Okay, storytime over. Bedtime now.", Tai stood up, throwing the covers over his daughter.

"Wait, I wanna hear what happened when you woke up.", Yang pouted, looking adorably sleepy.

"We can story tell later, okay? Good night, Dragon.", Tai gave her a kiss on the top of the head and turned the lights off.

"G'night, Dad."

They start the search for Ruby in the morning.


	5. Chapter Five

**It's meeeee. With another unbeta'd chapter. Ha. We're heading into my first major Arc soon. Chapter 6 is already finished and just needs to be edited but I want to finish CH7 before I post 8. I edited some information in CH2, so if you can go back and re-read! Thank you for sticking with me this far 3**

 **-Asch**

* * *

Roaming around Mistral wasn't as fun as either Xiao Long imagined. They hadn't taken into account how big the city was. And the STAIRS. Up and up and up, it never ended. Lifts seemed to be permanently full or broken down while Avaian Faunus had lines around the block for personalized air tours. They couldn't hope to get one without wasting the day in line.

By the late afternoon, they had sifted through the higher levels of Mistral, and now where strolling around residential district. Door to door they knocked, asking if anyone had seen a young girl with a bright red hood or a huntsman in his late 30's / early 40's with a dark red cape. At the end of their search, one kind woman had directed them to the property manager all the way at the other end of the facilities to ask.

"This is so boring.", Yang complained, dragging the 'g' as she flopped back dramatically.

"Well, we still have plenty of time to look. How about we get a bite to eat after we ask the Manager? And bring some food back to Zwei.", Tai offered, his legs feeling weary after the long day. They both could use a break.

"Sounds good to me. We can ask the restaurant patrons too. If they know anything, that is.", She yawned, spotting a nice small house with the words "MANAGEMENT" on a wooden sign outside of it. "There it is!"

Yang ran ahead to the door, knocking a few times while waiting for her father to catch up.

A boy answered the door, taking a quick glance at Yang and Tai before yelling into the house. "There's Huntsmen at the door!", he yelled, before darting back into the building.

They shared a look, feeling a little bewildered.

"Now now, that's no way to answer the door, Aigou!", An old voice shouted, accompanied by the sounds of a cane tapping of hard floor.

Pushing the door open further, an old woman ushered them in. "Well come on now. Out of the wind."

They both step in, removing their shoes.

"Uh. My name is Taiyang Xiao Long. And this is my daughter Yang.", Tai introduced them, with a polite nod.

"Qianru Wu Jiang. What can I help you with? We have new homes open, but they are going fast.", She said, already pouring tea for them.

"Oh, we're not here to rent.", Tai remarked, sitting down and blowing on his tea. "We're looking for someone."

"A shame. We can always use more Hunstmen in this community. Now who is it that you're searching for? I know many people in this area."

"Ruby Rose. She's sixteen. Dark hair. Silver eyes. Wears a red cloak.", Yang spoke up, describing her sister.

"Oh silver eyes, what a rare trait. I would remember if that had walked through my doors."

"How about Qrow Branwen? He's a Huntsmen, like me.", Tai asked, hoping he was correct in his assumption Qrow was with Ruby.

"Oh, Mr. Branwen! Tall gentleman, with the large sword?", She responds, recognition flashing through her eyes.

Tai and Yang stared, stunned silent for a moment.

"Yes! Yes! That's him. Can you tell me where he went?", Yang was over-joyed.

"He's not wanted or anything? I'd hate to see that man go to jail. He has so many people to look after. And he was such a charmer."

Cringing at the idea of this clear 90+ year old woman being charmed by her uncle, Yang focused on another part of her statement.

"Many people? Is he with someone?", Yang prayed Uncle Qrow had Ruby. It would suck to have come all this way to find Qrow and a group a lady-friends having a good time together. "And no he's not wanted. He's my Uncle. We're looking for my little sister."

"Ah. Good to hear it.", She took a leisurely sip of tea. "He was with a blond boy. Jaune, was his name. Such a sweet boy. Then there were two others waiting outside. Students, by the looks of them. Another boy with black hair and a bouncy young lady with red hair.", Qianru placed a contemplative hand on her chin.

"You know them, Yang?", Tai asks.

"Jaune, Ren, and Nora? Maybe they'll know something. Can you tell us what their address is, ma'am?"

"Just up the way here. It's the one with dragon statue in front. Can't miss it."

Tai rolled his eyes at the slight irony before getting up. Yang followed him, walking towards the door and sliding her boots on.

"Thank you for all your help, Miss Wu Jiang.", With a slight bow, Tai put his sneakers on and opened the door.

"Not a problem. I hope you find your little sister, missy!"

"Thanks, 奶奶!", Yang smiled, all but skipping to the large house with the dragon statue.

Knocking on the door with her robotic arm, Yang waited for someone to come answer. She could hear footsteps shuffling around along with a few voices. She couldn't make out the exact conversation, but Nora's loud voice was instantly recognizable, and she buzzed with happiness knowing that this was the right place.

Slowly, Jaune's face popped up as the door opened. A single blue eye peeking out to see who was at the door before it swung open.

"Yang?", He said, not quite believing his eyes.

"YANG!", Shouted Nora, flying from the living room into said blonde girl who hugged back with equal crushing force. "How'd you get here? What are you doin' here? Ooh, who's this? Your dad?"

Putting Nora down, they walked into the house, welcomed in without hesitation. Inside, she could see Ren and another boy playing chess.

"It's good to see you, Yang.", Jaune said, smiling. "Can we get you anything?"

"Nah. Thanks Jaune. And yea this is my dad, Taiyang!", She gave a wide sweep of her arms to introduce Tai. Tai gave a polite nod and stood awkwardly to the side as his daughter socialized with her friends. "We're looking for Ruby. Have you guys seen her at all?"

"You just missed them. They should be back in a little bit though.", Ren joined the conversation, the other boy watching curiously from the chess table. "You're welcome to stay here with us. We have a couple extra beds we can set up in the spare room."

"That would be nice. Thank you, young man.", Tai said, now sitting down on the red couch. "Where did Ruby go, anyways?"

"The hospital with Qrow.", Nora was perched on the back of the couch next to Tai, swinging her feet.

"Hospital? Are they okay!?"

"Yea yea. Everyone's fine. No big dealllll."

"Mr. Branwen received an injury during battle we had a few weeks ago. He's still having some complications with the injury. Though, it's not bad anymore. It's more a safety precaution at this point.", Ren explained.

"He saved us from an evil scorpion man trying to kidnap Ruby. It was pretty rad."

"Wait, what?", Both Tai and Yang said at the same time.

"Perhaps we should update them while we wait?", Ren looked to Jaune.

"Yea. We'll tell you as much as we can. Uh. Oscar? Should we...?", Looking over to Oscar, Jaune shrugged. He felt unsure about how much information to give.

Oscar looked instantly nervous under the pressure. He glanced upward, puzzling the new party additions. JRN recognized this at the motion he always made when he consulted Ozpin.

"He says it should be fine. Mister Xiao Long already has the jist of it. Just the recent developments.", Oscar responded, getting up and nervously approaching Tai.

"Oz?"

* * *

"I'm telling you, kid. That nurse hates me.", Qrow complained, idly picking at the IV on his arm. "Rolling vein, my ass. There's no way you have a medical degree and miss that many times."

During his visits at the Li Shizhen Hospital, Qrow had been assigned the same nurse each visit. A surly middle-aged woman who had no patience for anything it seemed. Ruby found it hilarious.

"Well, every time she walks in the room you're either cursing like a sailor, or something mysteriously bad happens.", Ruby chuckled, sitting in a tall waiting chair and swinging her feet. She made sure to come with Uncle Qrow on each visit to the hospital.

It was fun, honestly. Sure, the getting poisoned bit was bad, but Uncle Qrow was fine now so it was okay to joke at him for being a grumpy baby.

Qrow's nervous system had suffered severe damage from Tyrian's sting. It had been a long recovery process to get his Aura to heal his system. First, he had to stay for days, then days turned into daily visits, then weekly visits, and now all that was left was general checkups. Qrow had no intention of going to any appointments after he'd left the hospital, but Ruby asked him to make sure he went and somehow he ended up walking through the grand hospital doors right on time for each visit.

"Well! At least this is the second to last visit? That's only one more time after we go home today.", Ruby said, now fiddling with the various medical instruments around the white room. "Oh yea. Ren said we need to pick up some groceries if we can? We're low on food."

"Again?", Qrow groaned, his wallet wouldn't survive. He had a general idea how much kids after grocery shopping for the house in Patch, but this was completely different. "That kid needs to get his girlfriend under control. I'm gonna have to take some missions to afford all this."

"No no no! You're not supposed to go on any missions until you're 100%! You promised, Uncle Qrow!", She huffed.

"Hate to break it to you, kiddo, but I can't afford much more. All my major accounts are in Vale. How do you suppose we'll get the Lien we need?"

"Well... I was thinking... Maybe I could go on some missions? Not by myself! I can bring the team? Even Oscar! He's getting really good. I'm sure we can all handle some pricy Search and Destroy mission!", Ruby patted Crescent Rose who was propped next to Summer Solstice against the wall.

Ruby smiled as she remembered wielding her Uncle's scythe in the battle against their mysterious attacker. She thought back to her training days, before her Aura manifested and she would jokily try to use the massive weapon. Now she'd used it to protect their lives. The RWBY leader couldn't believe how far she had come.

Looking at the wistful, proud expression on Ruby's face made it hard for Qrow to say the "no" he wanted to. The blond one had told him how Ruby used his weapon when Crescent Rose had been cast away by Raven. Of which, was a principle reason he didn't want her to end up in the hands of the Branwen Tribe. It was clear as day Raven had big plans, and Qrow wanted Ruby out of them.

Raven already had Spring. And now that she knew of Ruby's SEW status and connection to him she could draw her in. Ruby is a smart girl, but her curiosity would be easily exploited by Raven and her insecurity over Ozpin and Salem. No matter what, Qrow did not want Ruby near his sister.

Sighing dramatically, Qrow sat up a little taller and looked at Ruby. "Okay, fine. But-", He didn't have the chance to add rules before Ruby tackle hugged him. The hospital bed groaned in protest.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Uncle Qrow! I won't let you down!", Ruby bounced up and down, getting off the bed to do a little happy dance. After a few weeks of nothing but training, she was dying to go vent her frustrations out on some Grimm.

"Calm down, don't get so happy.", Qrow grumbled, readjusting his IV line but smiling on the inside. "I got some rules first."

Ruby sat down in her chair, legs crossed and focusing all her attention on Qrow.

"One. Your scroll is to stay in your pocket at the ready. I'm going to ping it every half hour to make sure you haven't been murdered or kidnapped, got it?", Ruby nodded at the rule. "I'm gonna call every hour, and if you don't answer on the second call I'm gonna head to where you're at. No buts."

"Two. Oscar goes with on every mission. I'll feel better if Oz is watching you but Oscar's still gotta lotta learning to do, so no high level missions. Low and medium only.", Again, Ruby nodded. Damn, no actually challenging missions to test her skill.

"Three. I swear to every fucking god ever, if you get hurt or taken you're grounded for the rest of your life and Yang, me, and Tai will see to that. Got it?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, smiling. "Got it."

"Alright. Now, where is that terrible nurse? I'm tired of being in this goddamned hospital."

"I'm right here, Mr. Branwen.", The nurse looked in from the doorway with disapproving eyes. "I have your release paperwork right here."

One awkward and tense signature later, Qrow and Ruby walk down the street towards the house he rented.

"So groceries. Don't forget we're broke right now. Shop smart, till we get some cash flow.", Qrow handed Ruby a Lien card. It was somewhat of a mistake to pay Shiro's debt now that he's looking at the financial responsibility of five kids. But, it was the right thing to do.

He followed along as Ruby picked out ingredients for the few recipes they knew, carrying bags as after Ruby paid.

* * *

"I wanna change my bet.", Jaune remarked nervously, sitting on the dojo with his team and Oscar.

Tai and Yang had been brought up to speed and had taken a room upstairs to talk with one another. Yang looked concerned about Ruby and Qrow, while Taiyang looked stressed and exhausted.

"FINALLY. Thought I was the only one in this group with a brain. And eyes!", Nora smiled, snatching a small number Lien card from Jaune's hand. Ren sighed, putting his head in his hand.

"Mr. Xiao Long is right upstairs. You guys shouldn't be conspiring. He might feel offended if he hears you.", Ren, ever the voice of reason speaks up. Even if he did lean more towards Nora's ideals now.

"Me too.", Oscar squeaks, dropping in the little bit of money he had into Nora's open palm.

"Just you, Ren~!", Nora chimed up, grinning. Ren looked torn for a slit second before pulling out his wallet quietly.

"Wait, it's not much of a bet if we all agree?", Valid point from Jaune. "Someone needs to not agree."

"Then I get to keep the money 'cause you all doubted me!", Quickly pocketing the Lien, Nora did a little dance. "Momma gets a new pair of boots!"

"Nora, give everyone their money back.", Ren scolded her.

"Ugh, fine."

"Hey Oscar, do you think Oz knows anything? Can you ask him?", Jaune looked to Oscar.

"I did already after Nora first said it. All he said was 'Ms. Rose's birth certificate says Taiyang Xiao Long' and then said nothing afterward.", Oscar whined. He didn't know when or why he became so curious and entangled in the parentage of Ruby Rose. Ozpin wasn't very forth coming with information on the topic.

"Hmm... Suspicious.", Nora hummed, holding her face like an old school detective.

"Maybe we should ask Qrow and Taiyang? Rather than this sneaking around?", Oscar was dubious even when he first saw Qrow and Ruby stand near one another, but after seeing Taiyang he's pretty sure about Nora's theory.

"Psh. No fun in that. It's so obvious too, yet they're all so oblivious."

"Yea, why are we making a big deal out of this? Oscar's right. We should either ask or not get into their business. Maybe Qrow and Yang's dad have a good reason.", Jaune shrugged.

"And it might be bigger than us. Mr. Branwen's bad luck is bad enough when he's home here, he may have panicked at the idea of having a newborn child and fled. We shouldn't cause a stir in their family. Even asking might trigger something that isn't our right to trigger."

"Well, he's doing a pretty shitty job at not being a dad. Ruby looks like him, acts like him, and have you seen how un-intentionally fatherly he is? Like, I get we haven't seen Ruby and Taiguy together but COME ON. He and Ruby are like glue. It's so obvious Qrow's her dad."

"What?"

Everyone swiveled around to see Yang mid-stride on her way into the kitchen. Her face looked puzzled.

"Oh, hey Yang. Talk stuff out with your dad? We get it's pretty crazy, it was hard for us to uh... accept it too.", Jaune tried to not sound nervous.

"You think Uncle Qrow is Ruby's dad.", Yang asked, expression blank.

"Uh.. we were just messing around?", Jaune placed his hands up while everyone looked between them, anxious.

"Don't act so defensive, guys. I used to think the same thing, or rather I still do. It's just not a big deal in my eyes. Ruby's my sister, no matter what. It's kinda a long story?", Yang took a deep breath.

Everyone focused on Yang, waiting to hear the history of their family.

"When Ruby and I first started to go to school, kids used to tease us about not looking alike. Then in middle school, the 'infidelity' jokes started. Kids can be really mean sometimes and I never told Ruby about any of it. She was always busy making blueprints for Crescent Rose and reading. She never really had many friends, and she kept to herself, so it wasn't hard to keep her away from bullies."

"One day, I got in a fight with some kids who were saying things about my family. I broke the ring leaders nose. My dad was called to the office and had to take me home. I got suspended. On the walk home, I asked Tai 'why don't me and Ruby look alike?', he didn't answer me. It would have been easy to lie and say Ruby looks like her mom. Which she does. But he didn't. Maybe he didn't want to talk to me about Raven, but I think it was still pretty odd."

"Ruby doesn't really remember her mom that well. She was a Huntress, a good one at that. She never came home after a mission one day. Uncle Qrow was with her, but he had gotten taken down before her. He didn't know how long he was out, and when he went back he found her cloak miles away from where he was picked up at. It was stained and tested positive for Summer's blood. After a few weeks, they declared her Fallen in the Line of Duty. Qrow was still in the hospital when we held the funeral.", Yang reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded-up photo. She passed it to Jaune, who showed it around to everyone.

"The woman in white is Summer Rose, Ruby's mom."

"Wow. They look identical.", Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Yea, they do. But, I knew Summer Rose. I consider her more my mom then Raven. She was an amazing person.", Yang pulled out her scroll, opening the Gallery App and flicking through images.

"I actually used to be obsessed with it. I was suspicious growing up and before I started to focus on finding my real mom, this was kind of my big mystery to solve.", She held her scroll out to show a picture of a younger Ruby struggling to pick up Qrow's weapon. Then to another photo, this one with Taiyang, Qrow, Ruby and herself at the dinner table. She had been trying to take a selfie with the whole family. Another photo, with Ruby and Qrow scythe to scythe in a forest clearing. They wore matching grins and were covered in dirt.

"They have the same look in their eyes. That light-hearted, 'I'm a little shit', kinda brightness. They're too alike. Summer had soft, honest eyes. Physically, Mom and Ruby are practically the same, but Ruby and Qrow... They have the same soul on the inside. I can feel it. They have the same pained dullness whenever Summer is even mentioned near them too."

Everyone looked dumbfounded at the tale they had heard.

"So, why hide it? That's my biggest question.", Nora asked, glancing at the picture of STRQ one last time before giving it back to Yang.

"I'm not sure. But I think it-", Yang didn't get to finish as she heard the front door slide open.

"WE'RE HOME!", Shouted Ruby's voice echoed throughout the house. "WE GOT MORE FOOD!"

Yang smiled to herself at the familiar moment, recalling Ruby yelling anytime she came back from the grocery store with Qrow or Tai.

"At least they didn't catch us.", Nora smiled, "Wanna mess with 'em?"

The heavy conversation temporarily forgotten, Yang grinned. "We only got a small window of time before Tai comes down so we gotta make it count."

In the kitchen, Qrow dumped the grocery bags on the counter. It was only meant to last a few days. On the way home, they had stopped by the Huntsmen Mission Boards and taken a few. Because of Qrow's suspicion of Lionheart, they spent a few extra minutes making goofy aliases.

Ruby Rose was now Rowan Hood, Oscar Pine was now Diggs Cedar, Jaune Arc was Achilles Shields, and lastly Nora was Thorn Zapz. And together they formed Team DART led by Diggs Cedar, a team of students from Atlas stuck in Mistral after the borders closed. Due to the block between kingdoms, it was difficult to gain any background information on their fictional team.

And furthermore, the lack of Atlas Military has left a massive hole to be filled and a shortage of Huntsmen to protect the people. The citizens of Mistral were desperate and in need of help. Qrow couldn't have asked for better conditions to fake an identity under.

Ruby had also spent some time making fake names for her Uncle and Ren. Qrow Branwen became Corbin Feathers, while Lie Ren was Nelumbo Roots. "Just in case we all go on a mission together!", Ruby had said, while laughing at her own silly names for everyone.

Placing a package of thin sliced beef in the fridge, Ruby wiped her hands off on her skirt and looked around the kitchen. "Hey, Uncle Qrow?"

"Yea, kid?", Qrow responded, having taken it upon himself to empty the dishwasher and pull out the necessary tools of tonight's dinner.

"Where is everyone? Usually it's a lot louder in here."

"They're here. I heard some whispering in the Dojo when we walked in. Probably conspiring. I'd expect a prank here soon.", Qrow warned jokingly while pulling out a package of Yaki Dofu from a grocery bag and placing it on the cutting table.

As if on cue, ORNJ crowded into the kitchen. Nora had that chaotic look in her eye, while Ren avoided eye contact, Jaune pretended too hard to be casual, and Oscar looked sufficiently guilty. Worst poker faces ever.

"Hey guys.", Ruby waved, cutting knife in hand and a second one to hand to Qrow at the ready. "We did some cool stuff while we were out today! I'll tell you about it over dinner."

And with that, she resumed her dinner prep work. Cutting Shiitake mushrooms and tofu into small bite-sized pieces.

"So what'd you guys do? Break something? Haven't seen faces that guilty since Ruby broke my scroll years ago.", Qrow looked over to the students, cutting knife now in hand and ignoring the indignant "Hey!" from Ruby.

"Oh nothing, just hangin' out.", Nora grinned, clasping her hands together.

"Yea, I believe that. Seriously what-", Qrow started a bit when he saw a mop of blonde hair peak out from the hallway. Eyes wide, he watched as Yang Xiao Long popped into view.

She had a smile on her face and a finger held up to her mouth in the "shh" motion. She pointed towards Ruby then vanished back around the corner. She wanted to surprise Ruby? Qrow was more than willing to play along.

"So, kiddo. Whatcha need me to do?", Qrow asked casually, standing next to her at the cutting table.

"Can you cut the onions? I can't do it without crying.", She looked sheepish when she asked, as if he didn't know that she couldn't cut onions already.

"I'm on it, shortstack.", Qrow glanced at the hallway, watching the other kids whisper to one another. How was this beautiful mess going to play out?

"Can I help with anything, Ruby?", Jaune questioned, holding his hands out.

"Oh uh. Can you set the table and put out the burner?", Ruby felt like she was missing something as everyone flooded into the kitchen and asked her for a task.

Nora was pulling apart Enoki while Ren assisted Jaune with setting the table. Oscar was arranging the ingredients on a large decorative tray that came with the house. Suddenly they were all laughing and working together.

"And Ren looked so scared! It was cute.", Nora grinned, holding a bundle of mushrooms in her hand.

"You had been struck by lightning, Nora. I panicked.", Ren sighed, setting the fire dust canister into the burner.

"You wanna hear about panicked? I remember Uncle Qrow and Dad when Ruby's semblance kicked in.", Yang said suddenly, in the same spot Qrow had been in earlier and cutting the onions. Said man had been kicking back, taking a leisurely sip from his flask.

"Harhar, Yang. That was an awful day. I was stuck up there for hours before I got down!", Ruby stomped her foot, turning around to yell more at Yang. Abruptly, she stopped short, the knife clattering to the floor. "Yang?"

"The one and only. Heard you were preppin' Sukiyaki, thought I'd drop in for the rest of forever.", Yang had smug look on her face as Ruby stared.

Suddenly, Ruby sniffled. Her eyes watered up and she brought an arm up over her eyes.

"Whoa, Ruby it's okay. I'm not mad or anything.", Yang took a step towards her sister, arms out and open for a hug.

Letting out a big ugly sob, Ruby jumped forward into Yang's arms. Burying her face in Yang's shoulder she mumbled "I'm sorry" over and over again while the blonde just let her cry in their embrace.

Everyone smiled, enjoying at the tender moment between sisters. They pulled apart, Yang's hands on Ruby's shoulders as they beamed at each other.

"Oh, Yang! Your arm!", Ruby shouted, grabbing the mechanical limb and looking it over.

Qrow had to admit, he was curious too. Last time he saw his niece she was sans an arm and bed-bound. He walked over to the two of them, placing a hand in Yang's hair and giving it a good ruffle.

"Good to see you, firecracker.", He gave a lopsided smirk.

"You too, Uncle Qrow. Thanks for keeping your promise."

"Never was an issue to keep. Been keepin' it before you could talk."

"Can we quit the cryptic talk and tell me about your robot arm?", Ruby butted in, impatient and still tugging at the limb.

"Apparently, General Ironwood sent it.", She said offhand, pulling the arm away from Ruby and flipping it back and forth. "It's no replacement for the real thing, but it packs a punch. I beat the snot out of dad with it."

Suspicious of the fact that Ironwood had sent it, Qrow frowned. When did everyone seem so disloyal to the cause lately? It was like everyone once in the inner circle had either been killed or became of questionable allegiance. They were all replaced with the kids. The new inner circle, and force against Salem. An old bird, a little boy with two souls, and some students who never even got to finish their first year at Beacon. Ugh.

Shaking his head, Qrow refocused on Yang. "Beat the snot out of Tai, huh? Good. He could use it."

"Yea, it was pretty fun. You'd be proud of me, by the way, Qrow. The whole ride here I didn't argue with him at all-", Reminding herself that she yelled at him just the night before, Yang corrected herself. "I didn't argue with him more than once!"

"Not bad.", Qrow smiled, ruffling Yang's hair once more before putting his hands on his hips. "Waaait, Tai's here?"

Oh no. Oh noooo.

"Yea, he's upstairs. I think he feel asleep 'cause he should have been down by now. With all the noise I figured he'd be down here in a second.", Yang remarked, attention now focused on socializing with her sister and friends.

Qrow flopped back on into a nearby chair, working over just what the hell he was supposed to say to his former teammate. Tai was obviously gonna be pissed, and he really wasn't feeling up for the oncoming argument. Plus, he didn't want to ruin the girls' reunion after all this time with a fight.

Reaching into his breast pocket, Qrow pulled out his flask and took a long sip from it. Shaking it a bit when there was only one small swig left. He still had half the original bottle in the kitchen. Maybe if he drank enough now, he'd pass out before Tai woke up...

Nah, that wouldn't work. And could possibly incite having cold water dumped on him with a side of Ruby and Yang being pissed at him. Running a hand through his hair, Qrow suddenly saw two expectant faces looking at him.

"Dinner's still got to be prepared, Uncle Qrow.", Ruby said, picking up the knife she dropped and dumping it in the sink.

"Yea! Come on, lazy bird. We got Sukiyaki to make.", Yang pumped her arms into the air before following her sister and resuming her onion-cutting.

Smiling, he got up. Since Yang had taken over his post, Qrow went to help the boys set up the portable burner. Figured he might as well step in before they blow the place up.

"Alright. Uncle Qrow!", Yang yelled suddenly, startling the older man as he was putting down a tray full of cups. He banged his shin and the cups went tumbling to the ground. Luckily, one of the first days they had gone shopping for the house Ruby opted to replace all the glasses with plastic cups, anticipating her uncle's semblance. They had done the same thing at home in Patch. Her dad relished whenever Qrow went out on missions, so he could bring out the expensive crystal glasses he had gotten from his grandparents.

"Well, can't blame that one on me.", Qrow laughed, slowly kneeling to gather all the cups. "Whatcha need, kid?"

"I saw it in your face the second I said it, but regardless of your dread, I really got to wake dad up for dinner. ", Yang smiled sheepishly, walking towards the stairs.

Everyone looked confused, aside from Ruby who wore an a more anxiety-ridden expression. Seeing the tension in both girls, Qrow felt just a little bit guilty.

"Do we have too?", He drawled out, speaking in a whiny tone.

"Yep!", Yang patted him on the shoulder. "There there, champ. You'll survive. Plus, I'm sure dad really wants to see Ruby too. I should have gotten him up earlier."

A trip up the stairs later, Yang arrived down with Zwei in her arms and a sleepy looking Taiyang. The blond didn't get any chance to gain his bearings before he was jolted with a big hug around his waist. He looked startled for a split moment before his face softened and he returned the hug.

"Good to see you're safe.", Tai remarked, voice warm. "But..."

Tai pulled away, his hands-on Ruby's shoulders. "You're so GROUNDED, young lady. I can't believe you just ran off like that. That was dangerous, Ruby!"

"Wh- But I'm fine! And I had Uncle Qrow to look after me.", Ruby protested, stepping back and stomping her foot.

Immediately, Tai's fatherly scolding turned into a murderous glare directed at Qrow. "Yea, that you did."

"Thank you, kiddo. For that bus you just threw me under.", Qrow sighed, dismissing the "I'm sorry" Ruby mouthed at him.

"What were you thinking-", Tai started, his voice raising. However, he was interrupted by a soft beep from the kitchen.

"RICE COOKERS DONE! LET'S EAT!", Nora shouted a little too loud. It was way too awkward to stand here for another second.

Everyone uncomfortably shuffled into the dining area. Yang ran into the kitchen and fetched a carton of eggs, bringing them out onto the table.

Qrow sat down on the far end, Ruby on his left and Oscar on his right. ORNJ spread themselves around the middle while Tai took the other end with Yang on his right.

Ruby leaned forward, and with the help of Oscar, she started to arrange the first ingredients on the burner.

"Hey Ruby, you said something earlier about telling us something over dinner?", Jaune asked, spooning some rice into his bowl.

"Oh yea! I signed us up for some missions to take in the meantime. We could use the extra money 'cause we spent so much on food and housewares these last few weeks. Uncle Qrow thought it would be safer to assume other identities so I made fake names for us!", Ruby explained their new team line up while carefully turning the ingredients in the burner.

"Oh man. Huntsmen missions already?", Oscar said, sounding nervous.

"You'll be fine! It's just a search and destroy mission. It'll be over before you know it. Nothing more than a pack of Beowolves that had been scaring a neighborhood.", Ruby encouraged, giving a soft smile.

"Thanks Ruby. I hope I don't let you guys down.", He said, looking over the table with a devoted look.

"Finally, some heads to break!", Nora cheered, throwing her arms up before giving herself a second serving of rice.

"It'll be nice to get out and see the results of our training.", Jaune pulled some mushrooms out of the burner. "Though, I wish I got to pick my fake name."

"Aw, come on, Achilles!"

Everyone started laughing, idly talking about strategy or making housewife jokes at Ren. Not noticing the silent glaring contest between Tai and Qrow.

After supper was over, everyone pitched in to help clean up the kitchen. Everyone was doing dishes, and tending to the breakable dinnerware while Qrow wiped down the table in the other room and Tai taking the garbage out.

"What if we like, hang up rabbits' feet everywhere in the house?", Nora spoke suddenly, confusing the others in the room.

"Uh, what?", said the other students, while Ruby and Yang just laughed.

"Well does anyone feel slightly guilty that we banish birdman to another room or out of the house whenever we do like anything?"

"Kinda, but I doubt that would work. Plus, I don't think I can dismember any small animals.", Jaune said, turning to Ruby and Yang. "What did you guys do?"

"We got used to it. It's worse when he's nervous or upset and he's insecure about his semblance. Qrow gets stressed whenever he notices it and then it come out more.", Yang remarked.

"It's usually something silly anyways. Shoes untying or breaking something on accident, regular bad luck clichés.", Ruby told them. "Not like, life-threatening stuff."

"He's a really baby over it sometimes. We grew up around him our entire lives and he still gets anxious over it around us. Like we'd get mad at him when we know he can't control it."

"Makes sense though, if he cares about you. You're the last people he'd want to hurt."

"Yea, that does make sense. But we've never been angry over it."

"Though, Qrow didn't seem to mind if his bad luck went for your dad.", Nora elbowed Yang, finished with her task of putting the cups away.

"Yea. That was pre-tty tense. I don't think the worse is even to come.", Yang said, the anxiety of having Qrow and her father in the same room wearing on her.

Ruby sighed deeply. "We just have to wait and see I guess. I really hope they don't get into it."

"Me too sis. Wanna play some Finite Skirmish? Get your mind of things.", Yang offered, dusting her hands off as she finished the nights chores.

"Nah, I think I just want to head to bed. I'm gonna go find dad and Uncle Qrow and say good night. See you guys at 8am sharp!", She darted off, yelling a quick 'goodnight' out the backdoor and the again into the dining area before heading upstairs to her, Oscar, and Qrow's shared room.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Come on, boys! Off to bed.", Nora shouted, grabbing Jaune and Ren by the arm and ushering them upstairs.

"Nice-Nice to meet you, Yang.", Oscar said his goodnight politely, leaving the room.

"Well I guess there's no point in me staying up for any long.", Yang said to the empty kitchen.

She started towards her room, that she shared with her dad. The house had two bedrooms natively, which were split between RNJ and ORQ. Earlier today, before Qrow and Ruby got home they had taken the time to assemble the two extra beds in a spare room upstairs that had been left in the Dojo storage area. The comforters were red and soft, a beautiful contrast to the strong jade accents and traditional wood of the house. It had only taken them about an hour to do, and Tai feel asleep right away. Well, right after she made fun of him for being old and needing naps.

Latching the small rooms door shut, Yang plopped down into bed. She spared a quick glance at her STRQ and RWBY photos on the nightstand before sleep overcame her.

* * *

 **Enjoy!**

 **-Asch**


	6. Chapter Six

**Guess whooooo. It's me. Asch. SO here we are. Chapter 6. I'm like 4 seconds away from falling asleep, but I wanted to post this and share some info with yall. I've kinda changed the path for this story. In which it will be told in arcs, with one overarching plotline. This would be considered Part 6, and the final part of the Reunion Arc. If all goes well, the Arcs should be (all I have planned thus far);**

 **Prologue: Reunion (You are here!)**

 **Act One: Finalhazard.**

 **Act Two: Bandits in the Brush.**

 **Act Three: Haven's Fate.**

 **With subsequent arcs. I hope to have at least 8 arcs total tying into a finale. Maybe more. Who knows. Certainly not me lmao.**

 **-Asch**

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you!? Letting her come in all this mess! Did you think 'Gee, the world's ending better get an innocent child involved'!? Multiple innocent children?!", Taiyang's voice rang throughout the house.

It was four in the morning. No light shown through the windows, just the occasional glow of a flickering firelight could be seen. Ruby had been listening by loud back and forth shouting (albeit a little one sided, she could hardly make out Qrow's voice) from upstairs. It started after she woke up and noticed her uncle wasn't in their shared room. Ruby assumed he had gone out for a drink before the harsh whispers reached her ears. It was only a matter of minutes before the situation escalated. Oscar was laying with the pillow over his head, trying to block out the noise.

"Don't drag them any further into that shit, Qrow! We came for Ruby, and I want her to go home to Patch with me and Yang."

She listened for a few moments longer before getting up and trudging downstairs into the living room with her blanket and pillow. Ruby winced when passing above the dojo. It sounded so much harsher when she could hear the conversation clearly.

Ruby faceplanted onto red sofa only to find out the voices raised high enough to be heard all through the entire house. No silence, no escape.

Frustrated tears fogged her eyes as she furiously wiped at them. Pulling out her scroll, Ruby opened the team group chat. They only made it a little bit ago, a separate chat so they wouldn't blow up the "adults" scrolls with useless chatter.

* * *

 **THE FAM (CHILD EDITION)**

[4:03am] ROWAN HOOD: Going for a walk to the Dust Shoppe.

[4:03am] Local Dragon: I feel ya. Gonna stick around here tho. I'll shut them up if they go for much longer.

[4:04am] ThornGOD: Oh gods please i can nor listen to this for much longer ren and i are dying

[4:04am] ThornGOD: Your dad is slayinnnnn qrow tho feels icky i like birdman

[4:05am] Local Dragon: Yea. It's gonna be a real problem when I tell dad I don't want to go home to Patch. I'm gonna stick by Ruby no matter what.

[4:05am] ROWAN HOOD: Thanks Yang. 3 We can tell him together if that helps?

[4:05am] Local Dragon: Anytime sis. And maybe. We have some time to think/plan etc. Stay safe on your walk!

[4:06am] Oscar PINETREE: Did you leave already? Can I come with. I really can't sleep with all this noise and it's like. Painfully awkward.

[4:06am] ROWAN HOOD: lol Nah I didn't leave yet. I'm headin out now tho. still in PJ but bringing crescent rose.

[4:07am] Oscar PINETREE: Putting on my boots. I'll meet you at the back door!

[4:08am] ThornGOD: please shut them up ughhhhhhh we have a mission in the morning

Local Dragon is typing...

* * *

Tucking her scroll into the pocket of her rose-printed sweats, Ruby loitered outside in the backyard. The night air was blissfully chilly and helped tone down the strong desire to go turn Crescent Rose on her family. She idly kicked dirt around, watching the small rocks kick up with every swish of her boots. Even out here, she could hear the muffled sounds of arguing.

Though she wanted to get away as soon as possible, Ruby was happy to have Oscar tag along. The redhead would have preferred Yang but Oscar had made a good surrogate sibling for the last few weeks. She got to see a glimpse into Yang's life as a big sister while getting to know their mysterious new teammate. Plus, her big sister really needed to keep an eye on the fight upstairs.

Soon enough, Oscar jumped down the last step and padded out the door.

"Ready to go?", He asked, smiling up at her.

Oscar's pajamas used to belong to Ruby. It was adorable that he fit into her spares. The boy didn't pack much, and most of his belongings had been canned food he had eaten on the way to Mistral. She had a pair of basic grey Beowolf patterned sweatpants and an old Beacon tee-shirt that had been gifted to him, so he didn't have to sleep in dirt-stained clothes.

Both wearing combat boots, in PJ's, and accessorized with a mechanical death scythe made quite the sight to look at as they strolled down the streets of Anima. A few people sent glances their way as they trekked towards Ruby's new favorite twenty-four-hour Dust Shoppe.

"So, do they uh… Do that a lot?", Oscar questioned, tilting his head back towards the house.

"Yea. I guess it's my fault this time. I shouldn't have left like I did.", Ruby sighed.

"I wouldn't say that it's your fault."

"Huh?"

"They're both just worried about you. I think Qrow needs our help and sees your potential to help. He cares you, but isn't like um, coddling you. While your dad is just worried about your safety. And can't see past the fact he wants you safe, the fact that you're an AMAZING huntress and can handle yourself.", Oscar remarked in an easy tone.

"Wow, that was deep. Professor Ozpin, is that you?", Ruby joked, feeling a little lighter. He was right. But Ruby didn't know how to convince her dad to let her make her own choices. He had always been an ever-present obstacle for her to take the path she wanted. And most of her choices had been made on following her Uncle's footsteps. Her mom's footsteps. She wanted to make them her own.

"Nah, but he laughed at your joke.", Oscar gave her a winning smile.

"Glad to hear.",

"So, how do you get the bullets you like?", Nice simple conversation, plus Oscar had been curious about the various weapons everyone used. This was a great way to learn about Ruby's.

"Oh! Well, they don't have a lot of the rounds that I use here. So, I've been making my own. Working with dust is actually super cool. I have this portable bullet filler, so I can make more custom rounds or make rounds in a pinch. They sell the empty shells that I've been buying for really cheap too.", Ruby took a deep breath, and continued her nerd rambling. "Right now, I'm trying 35% Gravity Dust and then the rest is regular gunpowder. I did this whole paper on bullet recoil a while back and I use it a lot in my fighting style. This give me a bigger, but controllable boost."

"Whoa. You figured all that out on your own?", That was incredible.

"Yea. Everyone at Signal had to calibrate their weapons for Dust on their own. They school paid for most of it, but I put so much into Crescent Rose that Dad and Qrow had to pay extra."

"I bet. Your scythe is a mechanical marvel."

"I can show you how it functions one of these days, if you're interested. I do most of the repair work on Yang's Ember Celica too."

"Um ye- That would be cool. Thanks Ruby.", Oscar grinned shyly. "I've been wanting to learn more about Huntsmen and Huntresses. Weapons are a good place to start."

"I have some books I can lend you too! Most of them are still at home in Patch but I brought my favorites with me. You'd love Huntress Tales. It's a collection of real short stories written by Huntresses about their adventures.", Ruby gushed. "There's actually a story from my mom in there. I read it sometimes when I feel down."

"That would be awesome. I couldn't bring all my books either. It'll be nice to read something new."

"I keep forgetting that you've never been in combat before. Or like, lived a normal life before becoming a mysterious boy-wizard.", It was easy to overlook, most of the time.

"Yea... It's been crazy. And exhausting.", Oscar looked down at the cobble roads. "But I know in my heart I'm doing the right thing."

"What was your life like before this?", She was curious. She knew he was a farmhand and that was about it. "I just realized I know nothing about you."

"I don't know too much about you guys either. Aside from the few weeks we've been around one another and stuff Ozpin told me."

"A story for a story, then! You go first!"

Rolling his eyes, Oscar let out a little scoff.

"I lived with my Aunt for most of my life. I did all the farm work for her. Her husband had died, and my parents were pretty... eager to ship me off since my Aunt couldn't do the heavy lifting. I think they were glad to have an excuse to be rid of me. If I'm being honest with myself."

Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder, looking sympathetic.

"It's uh. Not a big deal to me. I had more fun on the farm anyways. My Aunt's not bad. It's just... we're not very close. It's like living with a stranger.", Oscar shrugged. "But that's basically all there is to me. Your turn."

"Psh. I bet there's way more. I wanna hear. My backstory is basically why we left the house.", Ruby groaned, now wondering if Yang had stopped their guardians yet.

"Yea. That was intense."

"It happens all the time. I'm used to it, but I also hate it.", Ruby sounded bitter. "It's- Ugh. It's whatever, y'know."

"I can understand it. Still, I'm sorry.", And he honestly was. What did you do when the two people you looked to for guidance couldn't get along?

"Thanks, Oscar."

They walked the rest of the way in a warm, familial silence. Sifting through exotic vials of dust, and Ruby giving him a crash course on all things Dust and Bullet related.

* * *

"Y'know. For someone who has done so much to 'protect' Ruby, you sure have a fucked-up way of throwing it down the gods damn drain!"

"She wanted to help, Tai. I'm not going to force her away into something that is her business now. She can handle it."

"Less than two years ago, you said she couldn't! You dragged all of those kids into this and you don't have a single idea of what you're doing!"

Sunshine filtered in through the windows, hours had gone by and they continued on. Yang had come up a few times to make sure they hadn't murdered each other and quieted down so everyone else could sleep.

Taiyang heaved a deep sigh. "I don't understand how you can keep doing this. Raven left, over this. Summer died for this, Qrow. Even Oz died, regardless of his residence in a 14-year-old boy.", He only added the last bit not to end on Summer.

"I- I know, Tai.", Qrow leaned back, covering his eyes with his hand. He was tired, both physically and mentally. What time even was it?

"We can pick this up later.", Tai exhaled loudly. "For now, let's go apologize for keeping everyone up."

"You're the one that raised your voice.", Qrow grumbled, getting up and shoving his hands into his pockets. He wore a sour expression on his face, and he would kill for some good whiskey right about now.

They practically shoved each other down the stairs, glaring at one another the whole trip into the living room.

On the couch, lilac eyes sleepily bore into them. Qrow elbowed Tai in the ribs, a que to hurry up and apologize.

"Uh. We wanted to say sorry for keeping you up. So, sorry Dragon. We didn't mean to ruin the night."

"Yea. Sorry, firecracker.", Qrow looked away, feeling guilty even though he wasn't the one who started it. Taking a second, Qrow looked around the living room. "Where's the kiddo?"

Yang looked unimpressed by the lame apology. She was too used to it. They looked like kicked puppy dogs and it was pathetic. "She left."

"What?", Both Tai and Qrow shouted.

"She and Oscar went to the Dust Shoppe after you two started. They couldn't sleep."

"Great. You take care of her for a few months and now she's spending all night with a boy.", Taiyang yelled, staring down his former teammate.

"That's the problem here, Tai! You can't trust Ruby to do anything on her own!", Qrow snapped back.

"And you let her get away with everything! You can't just-"

"Yea. See, now you've apologized. Then started yelling again. And probably woke everyone up at 6am. So now the look of jackass is complete on both of you!", Yang stood tall, crossing her arms. They shrank back, awkwardly looking away from one another.

"YAAAAANG!", Ruby's shrill, hyper voice rang throughout the house startling her family in the living room. A worrying shout by Oscar was heard seconds after her sister's outburst.

"And if they weren't awake before, they are now.", Yang facepalmed. "What's up, sis?"

Ruby Rose busted into the living room. She was in her PJ's, nothing in her attire had changed from earlier sans a shopping bag with the Dust Shoppe logo was hanging from her arm and a terrified looking Oscar who she was carrying bridal style in her arms.

"I HAVE ADOPTED THIS!", She screamed, pushing Oscar up over her head. "This is our new baby brother Oscar!"

Oscar, for the most part, was handling the situation quite well. Or as well as he could after being hoisted up by a girl half his weight and whom was now unofficially his sister. She had gotten the idea after Oscar expressed doubt about returning to life as a farmhand after they stopped the baddies and save the world. She went on and on about Patch, and what a career as a Huntsmen would be like. Adventure, daring rescue, and just being someone's hero. It sounded like a dream come true. A real fairytale.

Yang felt shock, for a split second, before she just started laughing. "Alright, sweet. I always wondered what having a little brother would be like."

The red-head placed him down, smiling at his bewildered expression. Yang strolled up to his other side, suddenly pulling him into a bear hug.

Overwhelmed, and a little out of breath, Oscar just shrugged. Ozpin had told him these two were unique people. And he was right.

A hand landed in his hair, he looked up to see Qrow smiling down at him. "Welcome to the family, kid. It's a goddamn mess."

"Oh, thank the gods.", Tai placed a hand over his heart. He wasn't ready for either of the girls to start dating. Adopting strange boys with a man thousands of years old in his mind and soul, that was much more preferable.

"So, you two ready for your first mission today?", Qrow asked, flicking Crescent Rose that rested on Ruby's back. "Hope you're not going dressed like that."

"So ready. I can't wait to get back in action. I'm gonna go put my gear on!", With that, Ruby darted up the stairs with Oscar awkwardly trailing behind her.

"Thank you, guys.", Oscar mumbled, looking at the ground. He felt like his face was on fire.

"Well. That just happened.", Yang stated blankly before pulling out her scroll. "I'm gonna go help them get ready. Work out your issues before I get back into this room. Love you!"

And there went Yang, charging up the stairs.

* * *

"So, whose last name does he get?", Nora asked, fastening the belt around her skirt. "He's gotta take one of your last names."

"I like my last name.", Oscar said plainly.

"Your family is; Xiao Long, Rose, Branwen, and Pine now? That's a lot of last names."

"Yea, but we're cool with it, so it doesn't matter.", Yang was standing behind Ruby, combing out her hair while her little sister pinned her hood in place.

"We'll try to shift the teams around, so everyone can get a turn on a mission. We can make more names if we have too!", Ruby couldn't be happier. A real actual mission, no training, no murder, just a good ol' fashion search and destroy! Sure, she would be taking this order on as the fake Rowan Hood, but still.

"So how do these work? I-I've never actually been on like, a real huntsmen mission so... Do we just go take out the Grimm and go home or?", Oscar questioned. His outfit was the less complex than Ruby's multiple belts and layers or Jaune's plate armour, so he had been ready for a while.

"When we get to the village, we met with the person who commissioned the Hunstmen Association for the job. Usually, and like in our current mission, the person who hired us is the Village Head. They point us in a direction, we kill stuff, and collect the Lien from them at the end of the mission.", Ruby explained.

"How long do they usually take?"

"This ones gonna be about three to five days. One day to walk there, one-three day to clear out the Grimm, and one day to walk home by the looks of it. The village doesn't allow for air buses or trains. They're very traditional.", Jaune had finished dressing and was reading over the mission dossier. "Looks like we'll be staying in the main clan's home."

"Sounds cool. I got to go on a mission here in Anima. Dibs on the next one!", Yang pumped her fists, grinning at the idea of getting back out there. Back to normal.

"Heck yea! I leave you in charge of thinking of names for you and dad.", Ruby fist-bumped with her sister before exchanging a quick hug.

"Alright, time to get moving guys. It's gonna be a long walk. Let's go say bye to everyone and head out.", Jaune ushered everyone out of the JNR room, where everyone had decided they would get ready in.

They walked down stairs in silence, all mentally preparing for the journey ahead of them.

Looking out into the living room, they saw Qrow and Tai sharing the couch. They were watching news about the Atlus Border Shutdown and speaking in careful whispers. Hearing the students walking down the steps, they turned around to greet them.

"Wow! I didn't know you two could be in the same room together for so long!", Nora wisecracked, jumping the remainder of the way down the stairs.

Both adults rolled their eyes, ignoring the comment in favor of wishing them off.

"Be safe, you guys.", Tai bowed, before springing up and giving Ruby a big hug. "Especially you, trouble magnet."

Ruby just grinned, shrugging at the new nickname before returning the hug. Tai put her down, allowing her to walk over to Qrow.

"Remember the rules, kiddo. One slip-up and I'll be in the air.", Qrow talked with authority, gesturing to his scroll.

"Yea, yea. I got it.", She must have had the most over-protective guardians in the world.

"I'm serious, Ruby. I'll leave you alone after you text goodnight, but I want a message as soon as you wake up, okay?"

"Yessss, Uncle Qrow.", She groaned, throwing her head back as her friends snickered in the background.

Ren said his goodbyes to his team, then went back to meditate. Yang followed him, giving her sister a kiss on the head and ruffling her hair before leaving the room.

Team DART (Or rather ORNJ, Ruby Edition affectionately dubbed Blood Orange) opened the door, all looking forward to the mission ahead. They started out, footstep after footstep on the cobble roads as Oscar lead them to Yuánbǎn de Village. Ruby looked back at the house, seeing her Uncle lingering in the doorway.

"Yang and Daddy get a big hug and kiss and nothing for me? I see how it is, shortstack.", Qrow put a hand on his chest, acting dramatic. He had to yell slightly to make sure she heard.

The red-head scoffed, taking a moment to dash back and tackle Qrow around the midsection with a big hug.

"There we go. Much better.", He grinned, patting her on the head before detaching himself. He gave her a hard shove forward. "Now off ya go. Don't forget. Rules."

"I won't. Love you, Uncle Qrow!", Ruby ran back to her team. Qrow stayed in the doorway until the kids disappeared beyond the horizon and the sun fell in the sky.

"You know,-", Tai's voice spoke from next to him, joining Qrow in watching the distance. "Despite your numerous shortcomings, like you have so many shortcomings that it overshadows everything good that you do-."

"Am I being complimented or lectured, Tai?"

"You wouldn't have been THAT bad at it."

Qrow chuckled, a bitter noise. "Maybe. Thanks, Tai."

"Think they'll be okay?", The blond asked casually, closing the door behind his former teammate. "Lettin' all the A/C out."

"Gods, you're such a mom. Yea, they'll be fine. Oz is with them, if things get hairy."

"And what about what we were talking about earlier?", Taiyang's tone went low, looking back at the kitchen to make sure both remaining kids were still busy cooking.

"We'll get everyone together after they get back from the mission. I already ran it by Oz but Oscar's still dark on it. Guess the kid was resting."

"I wonder how Yang's going to handle it."

"Yang'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."

"I'd still rather take the girl's and go back to Patch but I know damn well that isn't going to happen given Yang's attitude towards me today. I just hope Signal doesn't fire me. I only took two weeks."

"Send a letter then. Or you could just be a man and quit like I did, get back into missions."

"Ha. No.", Tai declined flatly. "Teaching put good money on the table, without risking my neck and leaving home for months on end."

"Maybe it'll all go well. She always changes the subject when I bring you or Yang up. She seemed happy when she learned about Ruby.", Qrow thought back to the conversation he had in Kuroyuri.

"Wait, Raven knows!?", Tai shouted, shushing quickly when he realized Yang was only in the kitchen and could possibly hear them.

"Yea. She figured out while I was down for the count. She attacked Ruby, but she wasn't serious. Pushed her off a roof and found out her Aura Frequency. She was the only one who knew Summer's and mine."

"She could tell the frequency just from seeing her aura broken? Also, I'm going to give her a serious piece of my mind for attacking Ruby. "

"Get in line, Tai. Raven's always had a keen eye. I'm considering it a small blessing she let it go as quickly as she did. I don't think it's over, but we're not going to wait around and see what she does.", Qrow exhaled. "We need Spring. Raven has her. I gave the information to Leo, and I'm confident he's not going to do good with it. We have to her before Salem does."

"I guess we should be working on plans? We can't just leave Haven unguarded."

"Yea. We can't make anything too official without Oz either. For now, we can info-grab around town."

"Hopefully she doesn't give us too much trouble..."

"My sister? Ha. You wish. You should know better.", Qrow joked, waving Tai off and making his way towards the kitchen. "After all you slept with her."

"Are you still bitter about that. Good gods, you two aren't even that close."

"Still my big sister, Tai."

"Ugh."

* * *

It was cold out tonight. Wind ripped through the iron bars around her and chilled her to the bone. She didn't mind it too much; the cold had never bothered her. She cared more about the company currently in her prison.

Irritation prickled down her spine as her guest placed down what looked like a rudimentary medical kit.

"We need to tend to those wounds. Wouldn't want you going back to daddy all scratched up, now would we?", The case was cracked open, and gloved hands picked up a small bottle of antiseptic.

"I can tend to my wounds just fine on my own.", Weiss glared at this woman. The nerve of some people.

"Oh, I'm confident you can. Too bad I'm here to do it for you, Dust Princess."

"Vernal- Was it?", Weiss' tone was condescending, unthreatened by the mysterious bandit. "I would much prefer solitude until the moment you manage to get ahold of my father and he buys me back. Which is going to be a lovely and long amount of time I can spend here in your hovel of a camp and enjoy the smells of dirt and the idle chatter of have-nots. Thank you very much for the substandard medical care, but again- I. Can. Take. Care. Of. It."

Without wasting another word, Weiss abruptly grabbed the vial from Vernal's hands. unwatching of the woman's expression, she picked up a cotton pad and began to gently blot at the small scrapes on her knees. Her aura was recharging too slowly, without proper food or medicine it was like her regeneration had completely cut out.

"Then I'll leave you to it. But I was told by Raven to do it, so I'll be hanging here with you. We can keep it as our little secret.", Vernal grinned wildly, sitting down across from Weiss and watching her as she dabbed at her cuts.

The Schnee really wanted her to leave. She wanted to get some more practice in summoning her small Knight and getting the hell out of here. However, she wasn't stupid. This was a learning opportunity.

"So, you're bandits. Would you terribly mind telling me more? I'm sure you've had a long day of pickpocketing and simple assault to recover from."

"Watch your tongue. We won't hesitate to send you back to daddy sans a few parts.", Vernal's hands tensed on her weapons.

"I hope it doesn't depreciate my value for you. So just nameless bandits then? Not even noteworthy enough to have a name?", Weiss was on thin ice, but she knew this was the best way to earn the respect of these ruffians. She had to show she wasn't afraid of them.

"You're in the hands of the Branwen Tribe. We're notorious, but not by name. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, we don't exist."

"They will shortly, I suppose. How will your tribe handle all the fame?", She had heard the name Branwen somewhere before, but couldn't place it. It was on the tip of her tongue.

"Oh, and, how will they?", Vernal was astounded by this child's bravery. She had expected the Schnee child to be spoiled rotten, crying and sniveling in a corner begging for mercy. It wasn't a bad thing though, this was much more fun.

"I ended up on your shores in an escape attempt from my home. As far as they know, I've just vanished. It won't be long until troops are sent here, seeking the criminals who managed to kidnap the former Schnee Company Heiress from her own bedroom. I know the path my ship was traveling in to Mistral, I know where this island is. It's not any wonder why you don't dabble in trafficking. You're awful at it."

Vernal was quiet, glaring down at their prisoner.

"Then perhaps we'll keep you.", A smooth voice spoke up, breaking the tense silence.

"Raven!", Vernal straightened out, acknowledging her leader. Raven just gave her a quick look before pulling off the Grimm mask on her face and turning attentions on to Weiss.

"And why would you do that?", Weiss asked, looking at the new company. Her make-shift jail cell was getting crowded, but she didn't mind the new development. More time here meant more time plotting a more careful escape.

"You're sharp. Not sharp enough to know when to keep your mouth shut. You shared the information you have with the enemy, effectively making it useless to you since now we can counter everything you've gathered. Brave too, in a foolish and naive way. I bet you would rather we keep you, then go home to your dear father.", Raven had her pegged. "I would assume you are powerful too. Rough, but could be shaped up. I wonder how good you are with the ornate little rapier of yours."

Vernal still had the weapon strapped to her hip. A cocky smile was plastered on her face as Raven lectured on.

"Give it back to me and I can show you.", Blue eyes bored right into red ones. A challenge.

"You'll do fine here. Whether you like it or not. When the time comes you'll scamper away, but until then you will stick with us. We'll keep a close eye on you. If it doesn't work out, you can go back to this cage plotting your escape as time ticks away. Or you can take what you learn from us a be a stronger, greater person. All it takes is a little bit of co-operation."

Weiss considered her options. This Raven seemed like a knowledgeable person. It was an incredible offer. "I suppose it would be nice to do something with my time."

"Smart girl. You'll bunk with Vernal for the time being. I don't trust the men around you just yet. Vernal, please make some space."

"On it.", Vernal walked off, leaving the prison door open behind her. "I'm sure we'll have lots of fun together, Princess."

Raven smiled at the disgust on Weiss' face at the idea of sharing a tent with Vernal. She offered the girl a hand. Weiss took it, using the woman's help to get up. "The Branwen Tribe welcomes you. I'll discuss your tasks and trainings in the morning. Come to my tent at dawn."

Offering a quick nod, Weiss proudly walked off in the direction Vernal went off in. Anxiety weighed heavily on her chest, but this was an opportunity. She needed to work with it. This was more ideal, more convenient to her than getting sent back to Atlus.

Hours later, Weiss found herself lying awake, staring at the cloth ceiling of the tent she now shared with Vernal. Said woman was nowhere to be found and she greatly appreciated the silence. She worked over the events of the last few weeks, processing the information she was now in possession of. Does this make her a bandit? Gods, she hoped not.

One memory kept popping up in her head. She shoved it out anytime it came up. It wasn't relevant to her current situation yet her mind kept trying to show it.

But now, exhausted both physically and mentally, she allowed it to play.

It was Winter and herself, in one of the many cloisters around Beacon. This was during the Vytal festival. Just before they started training her summoning together.

 _"So, how did you know that guy in the courtyard? The one that attacked you.", Weiss was curious. They seemed familiar with one another, yet she had never mentioned that man before in any conversation._

 _"Ah him. Unfortunately, I've known him for years. Since I was younger than you, even.", Winter took a cautious sip of tea. "You were only a toddler and had to stay home while Father and I went to visit some of his business partners in Sanus between Vale and Vacuo. Because of the different kingdoms, we had been assigned a huntsman as our guard and guide"_

 _"That Huntsman was Qrow Branwen, the man I fought with in your courtyard."_

 _"So, he was just an escort for you and father?"_

 _"This was only my first meeting with him. I was just a girl then. He was unaccommodating, rude, and short. Even then. Now a days he drops into the military base and harasses the General for hours on end.", Winter looked back on the trip with her father. "I wanted to see the sights and was constantly asking them to stop so I could look and play out in the new areas."_

 _"As foolish as it sounds I had a crush on him for the first dew days on the ship. I found the concept of him dashing. A knight in shining armour for a heiress such as myself. I was only maybe 10 or a little younger, and Qrow was in his early or mid-twenties. It was completely childish. To this day he still taunts me over it."_

 _Weiss snickered, passing it off as a cough and straightening herself out._

" _It was late October, and anytime I asked them to stop he would tell the driver to keep going. I distinctly remember him being on his scroll often and talking to someone constantly. He snapped at me when I started nagging to be allowed outside."_

 _"He didn't seem like that bad of a person. Just immature, if anything?", Weiss said dismissively, trying to prod as casually as she could._

" _His immaturity is a prime personality flaw. Anyway, the trip dragged onward into early November. It was an unpleasant voyage."_

 _Weiss quietly mulled over the story and enjoyed the rest of her sister's company in silence._

Branwen. That was Ruby's uncles last name. Was there a relation? The two shared dark, feathery hair. Both had red eyes, and a unique, almost feral air around them. Siblings, most likely.

Could she use this information to her advantage? Perhaps her association with Yang would bump her up a few points in Raven's eyes. If this was the sister of Qrow Branwen, that made this Yang's mother. Would she want updates on her daughter, perhaps morsels of personal details on the RWBY member?

Or would she be appalled? She remembered talking with Blake after the dance, about the things Yang had told her. Weiss had pressed her for details out of curiosity. She left their family, leaving her daughter behind to do what? Lead a band of criminals? Not the most accomplished mother, and that was saying something coming from herself.

She'll try it. No great harm could come from sharing the knowledge, and a good possibility of a positive. When she met with Raven in the morning, she would test the waters.

After one more fruitless hour of trying to sleep, Weiss recalled another small detail from her sister's story.

She said it had been late October, and that the mission had dragged out to November. Weiss was only a toddler at the time. Ruby's birthday was on Halloween.

Had Qrow Branwen missed Ruby being born? Was that why he was in such a rush, as Winter had described?

* * *

You know what's better than RoseGarden? FOUND FAMILY PLATONIC RELATIONS. Alright, gnight guys.

-Asch


	7. Chapter Seven

**Hey guys! Welcome to a massive chapter! 9000+ words. The longest chapter of Branwen's to date! It'll try and edit it every once in a while I write Chapter 8. First things first I want to update you guys on some stuff I've been working on!**

 **Dog Days AU; A RWBY AU filled with a bunch of tropes I like. Includes Faunus!Ruby, Dad!Qrow, Bandit family. More Vernal and Raven, focus on the White Fang etc. Its been really fun writing it. I'll have chapter one posted soon so please keep an eye out!**

 **RWBY x Persona 5 AU; A RWBY AU loosely based around the Persona 5 game! It stars Yang as our beloved protag! It's only in planning stages, mapping out everyone's palaces and how the mechanics will work. Who will be who etc.**

 **Let me know if you have any ideas you'd like to share! See you in the end notes! -Ascher**

* * *

[9:57 pm] Qrow Branwen: Ruby.

✔️ Seen by Ruby Rose at 9:57 pm.

[10:00 pm] Qrow Branwen: _Ruby._

✔️ Seen by Ruby Rose at 10:01 pm.

[10:03 pm] Qrow Branwen: I can see you, you know.

[10:04 pm] Ruby Rose: I'm fineeeee, Uncle Qrow. Let me go to bed.

ERROR: MESSAGE NOT SENT. Retry?

[10:04 pm] Ruby Rose: I'm fineeeee, Uncle Qrow. Let me go to bed.

ERROR: MESSAGE NOT SENT. Retry?

[10:04 pm] Ruby Rose: I'm fineeeee, Uncle Qrow. Let me go to bed.

[10:04 pm] Qrow Branwen: Was that so hard?

[10:05 pm] Ruby Rose: It is when you do it every 20 mins!

[10:05 pm] Ruby Rose: You said every hour!

ERROR: MESSAGE NOT SENT. Retry?

[10:05 pm] Ruby Rose: You said every hour!

[10:05 pm] Ruby Rose: You're being worse than daddddddd

[10:05 pm] Ruby Rose: The signal out here is so bad too. I have to send everything like a billion timesssss

[10:06 pm] Qrow Branwen: These things tend to happen when your niece is nearly kidnapped by a scorpion man, Ruby.

[10:06 pm] Ruby Rose: And now my sleeping time is being kidnapped by a bird man!

[10:06 pm] Qrow Branwen: lol. I can see the error messages.

[10:06 pm] Qrow Branwen: And it's local comms only with the other tower down. You're getting pretty far out so the signals probably really fucking choppy.

[10:06 pm] Qrow Branwen: Which, I'll admit, worries me. Sure you don't need any backup, kiddo?

[10:06 pm] Ruby Rose: GOOD. NIGHT. UNCLE. QROW.

[10:07 pm] Qrow Branwen: Gnight, short stack.

Qrow chuckled, throwing his scroll on to the nightstand. It was pathetic, how quickly he got used to the constant company and chatter of everyone. Most nights he would be complaining about Ruby and Oscar talking too loud and not letting him get any shuteye. Now it was silent, and the Huntsman truly couldn't sleep whatsoever.

He should be used to it. Years he had spent alone, isolated with nothing but a burner scroll to contact Oz if something was worth saying. Nights spent alone in a tent with the Tribe while nasty rumors of his misfortune spread like wildfire, or in a tree after three days of non-stop information hunting. It should be a blessing, to sleep in a warm home and soft bed.

No noise, no company. He didn't know when this intense craving for socialization set in, maybe he always had it. Years of rejection from the Tribe, then rejection from his peers in Beacon. At some point, attention became a goal. Which is probably what lead to his slight infamy during his late school years. He should have noted it sooner, how his disposition brightened whenever he was home in Patch or even when he spent time with the girls before the Fall. He drank less, joked more, and felt less empty.

He soaked in the affection Summer showed him like a starved dog too. Or a bird, in his case.

Her open kindness to him was so unfamiliar to him, but damn had he loved it. And he missed it, every second of the day.

Acting on autopilot, he got up. A walk might do him some good. Nothing positive ever came out of letting his thoughts run wild. And he didn't have near enough hard liquor in the house to recover if he did.

He was still in his PJ's, but if Ruby can go gallivanting in the middle of the night in them then Qrow didn't really see the need to change into his Huntsmen garb.

He jumped up, startled from his introspection at the sound of three sharp raps on the door.

"Yea?", He called out, Summer Solstice in hand as he clipped on his magnetic holster.

"It's me.", Tai's muffled voice echoed through the thin wooden door.

"Come in, then!", Qrow shouted. "You've never once knocked on my door at home in Patch. Why start now?"

"Because I don't pay half the rent here, you pay it. And now apparently Ruby pays it.", Tai opened the door, leaving it ajar behind him. He sent a look Qrow's way, watching as the man laced up his shoes. "What is with you people and late-night excursions?"

"Needed fresh air.", Qrow answered blandly. "Now what's up? Not that I don't appreciate a visit at 10:30 at night but I doubt you just dropped in for a slumber party."

"Not quite.", Tai grinned. "Rather than going outside, would you care to join me for something?"

"I don't like blonds, Tai. Not happening."

"Oh, shut up. Jackass.", The Xiao Long pulled a disgusted face. "No. Just no."

"Then what is it?", Qrow glanced at the time on his Scroll.

"I started telling Yang more about STRQ. I told her about the day before we made it to Beacon. When I met you and Raven? With the big storm."

"I remember. I was there. Why the sudden change of heart? You always pushed off the past before."

"We had a long talk on the boat, and at the hotel. I think it's what's best. And if we're going to… Going to see Raven I'd like Yang to have a little bit more context.", Tai gave a heavy sigh, leaning up against a bedpost.

"I'm fine with it. The girls should know as much as we can say.", Qrow was feeling proud. He never thought Tai would start talking about the past again. Their days as STRQ, at least.

"Yea. Yang's demanding another story. I figured I'd stay linear and tell her about initiation. Forever Fall, the relics. What it was like in our day."

"They use Emerald Forest now, I think."

"Yea, Ruby told me about it over the phone after she made team leader. But I was coming here to offer that you join us. Even just to listen. Figured it'd be a nice way to show we can get along after this morning."

"Not a bad plan. Alright, I'll hang with you guys 'till I can't take it anymore.", Qrow stated, tone nonchalant. "I'll meet you in your room. Gonna grab a snack first. Hopefully, the kids didn't polish off the rest of the kitchen before they left."

"Alright, meet you up there.", Tai left the room, making his way down the stairs and to the makeshift bedroom he shared with Yang.

One snack grab later and Qrow found himself leaning against the wall in Tai's room. Yang already had her hands in his bag of Chisps brand Chips, helping herself to a handful after handful. Qrow didn't remember eating near this much when he was their age. Yet Yang alone ate as much as the entirety of STRQ.

"Okay!", Tai grabbed his daughter's arm as she went for another handful. "You're getting chip crumbs all over my bed."

"Buzzkill.", Yang muttered, wiping her hands, both mechanical and flesh, on her father's comforter before crossing her arms and pouting.

"Don't be like that. Do you want to hear a story or not? I even brought your Uncle.", Tai made a grand gesture towards Qrow, who was weighing if joining story time was a bad idea or a horrible idea.

"I do! Also, hey Qrow! Thanks for the chips.", Yang gave her uncle a cheeky grin.

Qrow put the near-empty bag down in Yang's lap. He was hungry but the petty satisfaction of Tai dealing with a crumb-filled bed all night was too tempting.

Said blond gave both his teammate and daughter a hard glare. Ah, family.

"I'll start this one right after the last one. Qrow, feel free to jump in. So-", Tai started.

"Tell the skirt story and I'll fucking kill you."

"I'll glance over it, but it was damn funny."

"Eh. I've heard it before anyways.", Yang smirked.

 _The airship landed shakily into a dock. The storms had calmed down just enough for them to finish the trip to Beacon. Yawning, Tai tightened his battle bracers and watched as the other students all filtered out of the vessel and trudged into the main hall._

 _Rain still pounded down outside, the heavy drops making frightening sounds in the hanger._

 _Each student was handed a uniform, pulled out of a pile after giving a teacher their respective sizes. He watched Qrow looked completely puzzled by the uniforms, head cocked to the side as he observed a teacher handing Raven one. Seeing an opportunity- aRHFHHHHGH!_

 _ **-Skirt story omitted for Taiyang Xiao Long's safety.**_

 _Tai stared as a rabbit Faunus woman was vaulted off the side of Beacon and down into the forest of Forever Fall. He gulped nervously, thinking over various landing ideas and watching what each person before him did before they vanished from sight._

 _Beacon was floating much lower than normal, yet it was still easily a 650-meter drop. Forever Fall had short trees, which makes it difficult to lower his incoming speed. Each student was fixed with a parachute, but pulling the string added a harsh penalty. Disqualification from the Huntsmen program. He would have to change his line of study if he used it._

 _Dust maybe? He had small vials of the most popular elements. Ice, he could freeze himself to something and melt it with fire? There would be a risk- if he only froze his arm and came in at high velocities he could pull it clean out of the socket. Wind, he could slow his descent, give more time to grab one of the trees and safely land on the floor. But the forest would still be soaked and slippery after the heavy rains. If he didn't slow down enough he could slip and break his neck. The sky looked like it would burst open again at any second too..._

 _Another platform shot off, launching a grinning Raven Branwen a few feet into the air before she plummeted downward._

 _He glanced at the headmaster, who was observing each student fall on a screen. The man nodded as he watched the older Branwen twin approach the forest floor. Tai could faintly watch on the screen as Raven's sword shot out of its holster and the yellow static-charged blade exploded upon reaching the ground. The handle flew back up, and Raven kicked off against it. It slowed her speedy impact just enough that she could roll safely down on the muddy terrain. He could see the disdain on her face as she wiped wilted red leaves and muck off her clothes. If he listened close enough he could hear Qrow (freshly changed into a male uniform (Which still looked out of place- Everyone was in their Huntsmen regalia.)) chuckling in the background._

 _Said Branwen twin ready his flight stance. Qrow pulled the sword from its magnetic holder and into his hand. His finger twitched and suddenly it was much longer. A whoosh of compressed air was all Tai heard before Qrow held a full-length broadsword in his hand. Most students went for the flashy "last second before" before revealing their weapons capabilities. It was a little refreshing to see another student taking a cautious approach. He didn't feel as lame for his probably pathetic landing strategy._

 _The platform triggered, and like Raven before him, he went a few feet in the air before weightlessly dropping out of sight. Tai continued to watch the Headmaster's screen. Qrow had twisted his body around so his back towards the ground. His sword arm was extended out and Tai could hear shotgun blasts in the air and see the slightest bit of muzzle flash from Qrow's weapon._

 _When he reached about 100 feet until the floor Qrow's weapon changed once more (much to Tai's annoyance). More compressed gas shrouded the sword and before it faded there was a massive scythe in his hand. He spun it a few times, managing to slow himself down the smallest bit before digging the blade into the short trees below. The trees themselves split in two as the scythe blade dragged through them. Some students made impressed whistles as they eaves-watched._

 _Tai nervously looked down the line. There was only one person between himself and the risk of expulsion should he save himself from plummeting to death. A small girl, barely reaching his chest, adjusted her form. He couldn't see a weapon on her. Maybe it was stored underneath the white cloak she was wearing?_

 _A loud boom and the girl was in the air. She gracefully started her fall and Tai watched in wonder as she dissolved into a mass of white petals. The cluster shot off towards the ground, stray leaflets danced in the air behind her. On the screen, he could see her re-materialize and make a gentle landing on the ground._

 _Oh gods, now it was his turn. Before he could even get into a stance, the platform sent him flying. He didn't even have a chance to adjust to the weightlessness before he was in a nosedive towards the center of Forever Fall. Two-thousand feet seemed like a long way in theory but in practice, those feet went by FAST._

 _All Taiyang could do was put his arms out in front and hope to catch a branch. He was a close-range fighter, no guns, no blades. Even his semblance didn't really help him in this scenario. This test was so biased._

 _Tai stared as trees became less and less clustered together below him, and he quickly realized they were becoming very sparse indeed. He could see as a pond came into view. Wilted leaves and debris from the storm sat on the surface and Tai just resigned himself to a shitty, embarrassing landing. Bracing himself, Tai curled into a ball as he collided hard with the water. The stormy skies made the water dark, like swimming through freezing cold ink._

 _He dragged himself to shore, soaking wet and covered in waterlogged petals._

" _Great. Just GREAT!", He yelled out, shaking his boot in hopes to rid some of the water._

" _Are you alright?", A soft-voiced asked from the woods. "You hit the water very hard. Is your aura okay?"_

 _Tai looked around wildly for the source of the voice. His gaze settled on a bright white object huddled behind a tree a few feet away._

" _Uh. Yea. I-I mean my pride's a little… Dampened?", Tai shrugged, wiping some pond scum off his hands._

 _The voice chuckled, stepping out from the tree. He had already recognized her as the girl from the platform next to him. The one who burst into flower petals._

" _Are we partners now? I believe that was the rule. I don't mind if you'd like to seek out other options though.", She had such a soft, gentle tone. Tai couldn't possibly say no. Especially if she was still willing to be his partner after he had crash-landed into a pond in front of her._

" _Yea. Yea, that sounds cool. Uh- I'm Taiyang. Xiao Long. I'm from a village in Mistral. Close-Ranged fighter. I like dogs.", The best intro. EVER._

" _Haha. Okay. I'm Summer Rose. I was born outside of the Kingdoms, in the mountains far from here. I prefer dogs to cats, too? More of a bird watcher, though.", She remarked in a polite way. One that screamed "I think you're weird but let's just roll with it" kinda way._

" _Nice to meet you. So off to these Relics then!", As soon as the words left his mouth the clouds opened up and rain began to pour down from the Heavens._

" _Perhaps we should find a dry spot first? Plan for Grimm encounters and our Relic search plan?", Water harmlessly beaded off her cloak. It must have been hydrophobic. Lucky._

" _Yea. That sounds better."_

 _One quick started fire in a dank cave later, the new teammates began forming battle plans. And by that, Summer planned, and Tai nodded along hopelessly. If it wasn't punching stuff, then Tai got lost quickly._

" _-We should be able to tear through this area fairly quick! The professor said the Relics are at the far end of the forest. We landed in the center so if we move quickly we can grab a Relic fast!", Tai didn't expect how bouncy this woman could be. He thought shy, humble, and earnest. Which, he got the earnest part but overall his was just astounded how she could make trekking through a Grimm-filled forest sound like a stroll in the park._

"So, how'd you meet up with Uncle Qrow and mom?", Yang butted in, carelessly throwing the chip bag on the floor.

"I'm getting there! Be patient.", Tai held his hands up. "I can only story tell so fast, Dragon."

Yang just shrugged, looking indifferent but using every chance to keep an eye on her Uncle as her dad told the story. She watched every distant look in his eye, and each attempt to shake it off while Tai talked about Summer. She wanted to ask right here and now. It wouldn't exactly be groundbreaking news to her, at this point.

 _They had been walking for about an hour, Summer constantly had to keep slowing down for Tai. He didn't have any cover, unlike Summer's hydrophobic cloak, so his hair kept falling into his eyes and causing him to stumble. He was still soaked to the bone and was really missing that cave right about now._

 _As it turned later in the day, it got cold. Really cold. Wind ripped through the forest and froze him damn near solid. Summer offered small worlds of encouragement._

" _We're getting very close. Luckily no Grimm.", She lagged back next to Tai, drawing her cloak over his head._

" _Thank the- URGH!", Suddenly, a tree branch snapped above them. They barely had a second to pull back as it fell, splashing mud on them. Dark stains set into Tai's already ruined uniform, while Summer who had her cloak open to shield her new teammate had gotten dirty for the first time._

" _That was… Odd?", Summer, attempted to wipe some of the dirt off, to no avail. Laundry would be at the top of the team mission list after this._

 _In the distance, a short cry could be heard. Pained, and nearly drowned out by the sound of downpour. Following that, there was a deep howl. Beowolves._

" _And now the Grimm. So much for luck!", Tai sighed, shoulders dropping in defeat._

" _We should go help whoever screamed. Follow me!", Suddenly she evaporated into petals, leaving a white trail for him to follow in her wake._

 _Summer arrived on the scene in record time, however, it took Tai a bit longer. The mud was easily six inches deep. Not good for running._

 _He could see a figure, their posture radiated exhaustion as they used their scythe to keep an offending pack of beowolves. There was only one scythe user at the school he knew of…_

 _As he moved in even closer, he could clearly recognize Qrow Branwen. He was equally drenched, and Tai could make out the blood seeping out of an unseen wound on his side. No aura then._

 _With a flash of white, Summer was already stabbing into one of the Grimm. A quick twist of her wrist and the glint of silver was all he saw before one fell, slumping into the muck and disintegrating._

 _Qrow looked up in shock, watching this tiny figure take out the pack around him. Her semblance allowed her to fight without touching the ground and getting slowed by the difficult terrain._

 _Before Tai even managed to reach Qrow, Summer had managed to fell the entire group. Now standing the mud a few feet away, panting behind her drawn up hood._

 _Qrow looked at Tai, expression puzzled as if he had no idea what had just happened. He was hunched over, one hand on his knee and the other around the wound on his side._

" _My partner just saved your ass. You're welcome.", Tai huffed. Watching as Qrow looked over to Summer, who was now walking towards them._

 _She approached slowly, holding her hands up as if to say "not a threat" to Qrow. Summer grabbed the arm he had around his injury, carefully moving it out of the way so she could see it. Wincing, she looked at the deep horizontal gash and allowed him to re-wrap his arm over it._

" _We'll need to stop and patch that up. Will your partner mind?", She asked, taking a few steps back from Qrow. She could tell he wasn't used to contact or socialization, so it would be best to keep her distance for his comfort._

 _Qrow opened his mouth, with a few false starts before saying, "No. She-She went ahead."_

" _Is your partner your sister? Why the hell did she go ahead? It's literally a TEAM-BUILDING mission.", Tai shouted. Gods, those two were so out of place. He'd just came all the way from Mistral and they felt more foreign than he could ever be._

 _Qrow ignored him, still gazing at Summer (who sent him a very lethal glare for his crass outburst)._

" _Let's go find somewhere dry. We still have about 3 hours left before initiation is over. That'll be plenty of time to grab out relics after we get some rest.", She could see the remnants of a cabin in the distance. Probably destroyed by the Grimm. "This way."_

 _Following behind her, Qrow and Tai held a silent glaring contest. Qrow losing each time when he got distracted by a flash of white in the corner of his eye from Summer's cloak. What a short attention span._

 _The rain-_

"Aw, I wish I got to know baby Uncle Qrow. All quiet and nervous. I can tell he's totally lovestruck.", Yang interrupts, a mental movie playing in her head of an antisocial, shy lil' Qrow and his heroine Summer who brought him out of his shell. Sounded like a proper romance flick.

Qrow, who'd been taking a sip out of his flask at the time, promptly choked, covering his mouth and painfully swallowing the sip of Baijiu he'd taken. He coughed several times afterward, before glaring at Yang.

"Thank you. For nearly killing me.", Qrow hacked, his voice rough.

"You're welcome!", She replied, smiling.

"Yang-", Tai started, full dad-voice.

"Nope. We're not playing any games anymore. I'm an _adult_ now, remember? I get to know everything you know. No buts, no nothin'," Her patience was completely broken with these two. Did every guardian she had have to be completely emotionally stunted?

"Fair enough.", Qrow shrugged. He trusted Yang more than he trusted himself at this point. She'd surprised him every step of the way throughout her life. She was everything good from Raven and Tai.

"So. Qrow loves Summer, hence Ruby Rose. Their kid and technically my cousin but let's face it- She's never not going to be my sister. Uncle Qrow is a depressed alcoholic and constantly working for Ozpin to save the world and what not and felt too irresponsible to take care of Ruby so Dad took over the position. Got it thus far?", It was all pretty self-explanatory.

Qrow and Tai nodded, wordlessly listening and wondering when they got so bad at keeping secrets that this eighteen-year-old was able to figure everything out.

"During his life, Qrow has gained a lot of powerful enemies, not affiliated with dad, and decided not to let his young daughter be a target by hiding her under Dad's reputation as a Huntsmen out of action."

"Still in fear, for multiple reasons, Qrow refused to tell Ruby who his is to her and poorly covers it up because he's a huge baby and loves us too much to stay away.", Yang finished. There where more details she could put in but then, she'd rather just hear the story from them.

"Tai, your daughter's terrifying.", Qrow had given up, going over to Yang's empty makeshift bed and laying down face first. "Ughhhh."

"So, like, we're talking about this right? Or do you need a five hour depression nap, Qrow?", She laughed, grabbing a pillow from her dad's bed and chucking it at him.

"A drink is what I need."

"Can't help you there. Apparently, we're broke. Dad says he forgot international banks are down and only brought a finite amount of Lien."

"Noooooo.", He whined, voice muffled from his face being in the comforter.

"You guys are children.", Tai sighed, putting his face into his hands.

"If Uncle Qrow is broken for the rest of the night, can I still hear the story?"

"No. Part One is over. You get Part Two later. Punishment for startling us."

"Not fair!"

"Too bad, young lady. Qrow, get off Yang's bed. We need to get some sleep and then we are going to have a very long talk tomorrow."

"Mfmm. Fmmk mou.", Came from him, his hand raised to flick Tai off.

"Hey- Language."

"Aw, you two can bunk together. I gotta go tell Ren about the big reveal.", Yang bounced up. "We all pretty much figured it out. Us, a bunch of teenagers."

She was rubbing it in _HARD_. Qrow let out a miserable noise. And with that, she skipped out, towards the JNR room.

Tai let out another big sigh before awkwardly clearing his throat. "In my defense, I blame you and Raven for the girl's candid-ness."

"WAKE UP, REN! GUESS WHAT-", Was heard from upstairs followed by a short 'thunk' noise and teenager chatter. Mostly on Yang's part.

Qrow felt strangely torn between awful and relieved. With a start, he pulled out his scroll and sat on the edge of Yang's bed.

[12:14 am] Qrow Branwen: Hey Yang. Don't tell Ruby alright? I want to be the one to tell her.

[12:14 am] Yang Xiao Long: You got it, Uncle Qrow. Secrets safe with me. But don't take forever. It'll only be worse the longer it takes.

[12:15 am] Qrow Branwen: Somehow, I'm proud of you firecracker. Be up bright and early tomorrow. We got some stuff going on. Could use a sharp mind like yours.

[12:15 am] Yang Xiao Long: Got it! Gonna have a slumber party with Ren. Tell dad.

"I invited Yang to our Raven – Haven conversation also. Figured she should be in on it now that she can completely shut both of us down.", Qrow tucked his scroll away. "Also, she's spending the night upstairs harassing the other kid. So you're Yang free tonight."

"I almost feel bad for- What's his name again? Rin? Ren?"

"Lie technically but goes by Ren. He's used to the craziness around here, I assure you. The most balanced kid out of all of 'em. Kid's been a damn good housewife too. Between Ruby and Nora, this place usually is a gods damned mess at the end of the day."

"I know all to well that you don't clean so it's good that some here does."

"You're the best housewife of all, Tai. Don't feel like your title is challenged.", Qrow joked, idly taking another sip from his flask. Which was almost empty.

"Any word from Ruby?"

"Nah, she's sleeping. She doesn't have to check in any more until morning."

"I hope their mission goes well. Not that I doubt it won't. Ruby was the best huntress-in-training at Signal."

"It's just a Search and Destroy. I doubt anything could go wrong on a mission that simple."

* * *

Things were not going well for Team DART (or rather, ORNG), as they sat awkwardly outside of the village head's office. Beyond the closed door, two distinctly male voices shouted at one another. Ruby felt bad for eavesdropping, but it was hard not to when the voices were _arguing over you_.

" _Feels like home.",_ Ruby thought sarcastically.

"Should we… Knock or something?", Oscar asked, feeling awkward.

"I say we barge in. Show that guy whose boss now.", Nora glared angrily at the door.

"This is a traditional town. Of course, some people would be upset that we came here. We're huntsmen from the Kingdoms.", Jaune shrugged it off, despite feeling unnerved by their less-than-friendly welcome.

They had arrived earlier in the village than they had expected. Determination (and a little bit of childish excitement) carried them fast and left them exhausted upon reaching the gates. They met with the Village Elder who had called them in for this mission. It was a strictly formal meeting and soon after they had been ushered to a spacious room by a young housemaid.

Quick enough, the sun was rising in the sky and they journeyed back to the Elder's office to get some intel on the offending Grimm population.

And that leads them to now, sitting outside of his office whilst listening to the muffled shouts inside.

The sound of glass shattering echoed out, making Ruby and Oscar jump.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open. The paper slide jumped out of place with the force. Everyone startled to attention and stood up, hands tense on their weapons as a stern-looking middle-aged man stormed out.

"Out of my way, foolish children! 邪恶的蛇 will kill you all!", The man yelled as he shoved his way through the students.

"Well… That was weird.", Nora shrugged as she watched the man leave the building.

Silently, Team DART walked into the office. There was a broken vase with an ornate pattern on it, likely the source of the shattering noise they heard earlier.

"Ah, young Huntsmen. Sorry about that er- event that just happened.", The Elder certainly lived up to the name, greying and frail looking. Black hair had long turned silver with a long well-groomed beard trailing downward. He wore a blue and gold Changshan.

"Mister Du has had a hard time accepting help from the kingdoms. And was jerked into a fury when he discovered you were all so young.", The Elder went on. "He did not think you capable of the task at hand."

"It's alright. Thank you for sheltering us for the night. We should get started right away, so we'll be off now.", Oscar (As Diggs), pulled on his best leader voice when addressing the Elder. Ozpin was chuckling in the back of his mind as he sounded pre-pubescently squeaky.

"Come now. I am not dismissing your value as soldiers but at least stay and enjoy breakfast. Young people need a healthy start to their day.", He remarked kindly, getting up and ushering them out of his office.

Everyone followed along, ignoring the stiff stares of the village people as they moved towards a grand dining hall. Ruby snapped a few photos of the towering blue and gold building, making sure to get some good shots of the white marble Feilong Grimm statues. She posted them in the group chat, hoping they would send.

People bowed and parted for the Elder, letting him pass through the crowds and lead the young huntsmen team into the banquet area.

"Please grab anything that you would like. On the house.", The Elder smiled, patting them forward.

Ruby's eyes lit up as she grabbed a big platter and started shoveling stuff on without a hint of regret. She couldn't even read the labels on everything. Her knowledge of the eastern languages in Mistral was near zero. Sure, she tried to pay attention when Dad was teaching Yang but overall her focus drifted off during those lessons. There were just so many dialects and different languages all together it was impossible to learn any of it.

Before she knew it, her dish was full, stacked high with traditional pork buns, sauce-covered meats, and seasoned noodles. She sat down at a nearby table, ignorant to the aghast looks sent her way.

Nora tactlessly did the same as her but picking out mostly items from the dessert table. Red Bean Buns and egg tarts piled up, a few pieces of jelly slipped off onto the floor. A maid came out and began quietly tidying the mess. Smiling sheepishly, Nora apologized. The young maid looked at her with a kind expression, saying something in a foreign language and walking away.

Though he sorely wanted to mow down like the girls, Jaune opted for a lighter meal. Ren always talked about the effects of the food you eat before combat and ate foods that looked like the dishes before him in the buffet. He opted for a more modest meal. He could read the labels, slightly able to make out the words. At least he wasn't failing his Dialects of Mistral class as he loosely translated each item in his head before dragging a small steamer basket of Xiao Long Bao dumplings onto his platter. Coupled with a bowl of shredded tofu soup and two of those egg tarts Nora had piled high on her platter, his selection was complete. He put his plate down on the table, sitting next to Nora and across from Ruby.

Oscar went up next, holding the dish and looking over everything and reaching a hand out to grab a bright red plate of… Something?

" _Be careful, that's spicy.",_ Ozpin's voice echoed through his mind.

Hesitating, he moved to another bowl of greyish, thick soup. _"Not the dish I would choose, especially for your first mission_."

Oscar groaned. Ozpin had an objection to every dish he had wanted to try thus far. He had a sneaking suspicion the man was just messing with him. He didn't want to talk to Oz yet either. He hadn't mastered the ability to talk just with his thoughts and had to speak aloud to be heard by the headmaster. He hesitated but reached out and grabbed a delicious-looking bowl of beef noodle soup. No comments, besides a small background chuckle. Victory!

Sitting down next to Ruby, he took a bite. He sighed contently. Having lived far away from others, and not being from a tradition Mistral family, he never had a chance to eat anything like this in his life.

He picked a pork bun off Ruby's plate, ignoring the offended "hey" he received upon doing so, and bit down. It was all so _good_. Oscar wouldn't mind just this being their payment.

They ate in relative silence. All too enraptured in their food to hold a conversation. Which was fine, they had discussed all battle tactics and formations prior and had practiced them for a short amount of time.

Plates polished, everyone full and happy, they waved goodbye to the staff.

Outside, a young man in a formal uniform flagged them down. Wordlessly, he handed them a scroll. It was neatly wrapped up in a golden thread. The man bowed to them before walking off back towards the Elder's main compound.

Oscar unbound the parchment, unfurling the two sheets of paper inside. There was a cover letter, and behind it was a map of the area. Hand-painted, by the looks of it. He cleared his throat and started reading off the contents.

" _Dear Huntsmen,_

 _Enclosed in this letter is a map of the immediate areas that require your services. Each is circled in blue where these dark creatures' attacks have occurred. We do not know if these beasts travel in packs or how they operate and will be solely relying on your ability as Huntsmen to protect our borders._

 _There are three distinct districts on our outskirts that have been suffering. Two are poverty camps, and the third is our staple rice farm. Please handle this issue swiftly._

 _Sign,_ _偉大的長老_ _."_

"Poverty district? Rice farm?", Ruby asked, questioning.

"I guess it's a bigger problem than just a pack of Beowolves. Better head out if we want to get back in a reasonable amount of time.", Jaune sighed, grabbing the map from Oscar. "Qigai- Beggar's District Number One, is the closest. We should head there first, I guess."

While Oscar pouted childishly about not getting to give team orders as team leader, he agreed and they all started for the gate.

It wasn't a long walk. The villages had been knit closely together and surrounded by thick stone walls as an attempt to protect from Grimm. It was shocking they had made it this long without being more heavily attacked. The landscape was full of massive, beautiful trees and the terrain was slightly hilly. Overall, a pretty sight. Jaune and Ruby snapped a couple pictures on their scrolls, while Oscar filled the silence with plant facts and stories.

"Back home we- well I actually used bamboo to make charcoal. It burned really good. We used it for cooking fires and my aunt would bake her pottery with it.", Oscar retold fondly. "There was this huge thicket of it just off short walk off from the farm."

"I keep forgetting you're a farm boy. It's pretty adorable.", Nora teased, striding forward with her arms behind her head.

Oscar just shrugged it off, rather than becoming embarrassed.

Quickly enough, the shabby sign labeling the first compound was in view.

The Beggar's district was… What it sounded like. It looked like a slum. Garbage bags taped over makeshift homes. Cheap tin was used as building materials for the homes.

Claw marks and wreckage stood out, littered through the streets as a few children sifted through it. Ruby froze, eyes locked on the destruction. Dried blood was spattered on the street, cheap white cloths had been thrown over bodies fallen to the latest Grimm attack.

Behind her, she heard Jaune swear under his breath as he walked forward and began talking with a villager in their native language. Slowly, she followed his lead, prompting Nora and Oscar to move as well. None of the people spoke the universal language of Remnant, so communication with them was near impossible as she relied on Jaune solely for translation.

The blond parted from the villagers, who looked at the huntsmen with hope in their eyes as he went over to his teammates.

"We can help with the pickup for now. The Grimm usually attacks around this time. All this damage is from the last couple of mornings. So, we gotta be on guard.", An old woman patted Jaune on the shoulder as she walked past, smiling sweetly. He gave a kind smile back, before addressing DART once more. "Rub- Rowan. Can you help those people over there tie their tents back up? Your semblance lets you get high places pretty easy, and you can keep an eye on the horizon for incoming Grimm."

Jaune noticed the green look on her face anytime her gaze drifted to one of the bodies. Getting her away would probably be the best for her.

The air smelled like blood and infection and death and this town was suffering. Ruby's heart stung as she watched the dead be loaded onto a bamboo stretcher and all she can think of is their family being torn apart and then she can see Qrow on the stretcher in their place and how she would feel—And the air was abuzz with negative emotion. It was almost a physical feeling, and she could feel it. It's no wonder the Grimm keep coming back. Everyone is just… So scared and so sad.

"Rowan?", Ruby jerked up suddenly, unaware that she just went quiet for a solid minute. Everyone looked at her with worried eyes.

"Aha- Yea. I'll… I'll go do that.", She stuttered before taking off towards the tents.

Her teammates watched her go with an empathetic gaze.

Jaune dished out orders to the rest of them, not even bothering to keep the pretense of Oscar being the leader due to the urgency of the situation.

Ruby was greeted by a thin older man, who spoke weak Remnant Standard. They didn't understand what she could do as she gestured up to the great trees around them.

"Here just let me-.", She grabbed the thick rope used to tight the tents up and wrapped it around her arm a few times, just to be safe as she stepped back a couple of feet.

Getting a running start, she let the wind take her as she dematerialized into vibrant petals and zipped up as far as the rope would go. Planting her boots on a high branch she set on tying the knot. This way no average sized Grimm could tear it down. Smiling to herself, proud at the sturdy knot she jumped down.

She was greeted with the awestruck stare of the villagers as they chattered and crowded her.

"Haha, it's just my semblance.", Ruby responded to them, assuming that was what they were asking. Maybe she should have paid more attention in Eastern Languages.

The frail man from earlier held out another rope to her. She laughed lightly, taking the rope in hand and doing a little salute before taking off in a slightly showier fashion.

It felt good. Children smiled and collected the petals she left behind, throwing them up in the air before they ran after one another. Soon enough, all the ropes had been tied high and out of destruction range from the next Grimm attack.

Nora, paired with a taser, lifted most of the building back into place. Now she was baking with one of the village mothers. Lifting ten sacks of rice in one arm and ten stacks of flour in the other one. By the looks of it, they were prepping a feast. She'd been so well-fed on this mission.

Jaune was nailing up wooden panels, reconstructing the couple houses that were salvageable. He was chatting idly in their language, his sentences smoother and more confident compared to earlier as he got into the swing of it.

Oscar was helping in the only way he really knew how. First, he assisted in the rice paddies. Now he had moved on to assist in their cotton field. The garden had been destroyed by the Grimm. The plants that hadn't been ruined had to be moved into another small clearing while the ground was reworked. He moved in tandem with the other farm workers, easily replanting the field.

He looked over his shoulder, wiping the sweat from his brow as they planted the last of the crop. Ruby and Nora, having finished their pre-given tasks managed to make setting the table into a game. Children flocked to the two girls, admiring every little thing they did.

Ruby used her semblance to fly over the long makeshift banquet table, leaving a dusting of petals over it. The kids cheered at the display.

Bowls of rice were dished out just as the sky started turning dark. Jaune took a seat, using a rag to wipe the day's sweat off. He pulled out the map from earlier, asking a townsman to help him figure out the regular pattern of the Grimm attacks.

The lack of anguish helped, obviously. This morning the negativity was so strong. Ruby even had a sensory response to it, if her lockup earlier was any hint of how bad off the town had been.

Based on what the villager was telling him, it was one major pack. It swept through each district before circling back to wherever it's den was.

"Earlier, a man mentioned '邪恶的蛇'to us. What is that?", Jaune asked.

The townsman started, before gesturing his arms in a big motion. "It is- Big. Evil beast. Dragon."

"A dragon? Like Feilong?", A dragon Grimm? The damage didn't come from above, by the look. It seemed more like a truck plowed through the town in a figure eight path.

The man shook his head. "No wings. It is like- Tiger."

"Uh. Okay?", Yea, he had no idea. Whatever it was, it was big. "Hey, Rub-Rowan?"

"Yea?", She padded over, leaving her child following and coming over.

"I think we should text Qrow. This looks bigger than just a pack or two. Oscar's still inexperienced and…", It would be a good idea to get a more capable huntsman out here. Even Taiyang, maybe. If Qrow was still indisposed for combat.

"No no no. We don't need any help. We got this. What's the point in going out on a mission if we need to call for an adult before we even see what we're up against?", Ruby complained. They could handle it. She didn't need to run to Uncle Qrow every time things looked down.

"Maybe we should do-.", Jaune started before being interrupted by a shrill scream from the district entrance. The map was left on the table as he jolted up, turning around to see a swarm of Creeps approaching quickly.

Ruby already had Crescent Rose drawn and was now making a mad dash towards the crowd of Grimm. Effortlessly, she twisted the weapon around to shield the person who was at the gate. One of the children, a girl, she'd been playing with earlier. The blade was facing her, point dug firmly in the dirt as she shot the front line. Several of the beasts crumpled to the group, leading another few to trip over the bodies of the fallen.

Terror-struck, the girl stayed frozen behind the blade, ignoring Ruby's shout of "Run!".

Jaune wasted no time running in and pulling the girl out, moving back to the citizens and guiding them away to shelter.

Oscar drew his- Er- Ozpin's cane, ready to strike down the Grimm that started making it past Ruby's sniper fire.

Nora already jumped into the thick of it, smashing Creeps down left and right with a wild grin on her face. Ruby stopped her shooting, now twirling her scythe around with ease leaving a rain of body parts.

It took about ten minutes between the four of them, Jaune focused on protecting the townsfolk from few Grimm that went straight for them. Then Ruby, Oscar, and Nora's merciless slaughter-fest took the rest down.

Hands on his knees, Oscar panted heavily at the effort while the girls didn't even look remotely phased. Embarrassing.

Cheers rang out from the civilians, all of them crowding around the huntsmen with adoring expressions of gratitude.

"It's really nothing- aha.", Ruby saluted, standing tall. "All in a day's work."

"We need to start worrying about the big one.", Jaune mentioned. "Sir?"

He reached out for the villager he was discussing the patterns with moments prior. "When does the er- Tiger Dragon one come usually? After we take care of that one, the Grimm shouldn't be as attracted to this area."

"Shortly.", Was the only answer he received before a chilling flat roar echoed through the conifer forest.

A gust of wind followed, shaking the treetops. Jaune started regrouping everyone, leading the villagers back into the safe area. Rapid and loud noises started getting closer. He could see the trees tilt to the side as if whatever this was- was jumping from each on to get here.

There was a boom. The structures at the village gate disappeared under a massive black body. The tent rope Ruby had put up prior snapped under the force of this creatures landing.

"A salamander?", Was the only dumb remark he could make come out of his mouth as he stared at this monster. He'd never seen a Grimm this big, or rather the Grimm Dragon from Beacon was the only creature comparable.

The man was correct. It had a close look to a Tiger Salamander. Body pressed close to the ground with bone plates that looked similar to tiger stripes. It let out another dull yell before lashing out its thick tail. Trees fell, sending them crashing down on the village. He didn't even need to focus on the damage to tell there was no rebuilding for them now. The destruction too much to fix.

"Jaune!", He couldn't tell what teammate it was, screaming his name as a shadow overcame him. There wasn't even a second for him to turn around as he heard a sharp crack.

His eyes were closed, accepting whatever harm was going to befall him… Only for it not to come. He could hear white noise, and slowly the sounds of fighting came into focus.

He inched his eyes open, seeing Ruby stand in front of them, hood blowing in the wind as she fired shots off at the Salamander Grimm. There was no obvious wreckage around them. What happened?

"Ruby, are you okay?", He heard Oscar's panicky voice. No more codenames, then.

Ruby rubbed her face, wincing at the sting. Blood was stained on to her hand as she pulled back. Oscar rushed over to her side while Nora held off the Grimm.

"Oh man.", He sounded worried. He pushed her hair back gently, looking at the damage.

She moved as fast as she could to protect Jaune and the civilians from an oncoming swat from the beast. A hard slash to the hand had it falling back but a stray claw managed to slice right through her Aura, across her face.

"How bad is it?", It hurt a lot.

"Oz says not bad, but you should hang back and let your Aura recharge. And that it might scar.", Oscar responded, pulling out the flannel rag he kept in his back pocket and pressed it to her face. It was a deep diagonal gash, running from just under her bottom lip and up to the corner of her right eye. Just missing it, thank the Gods.

"Thanks, Oscar. I can still fight though.", She wiped the blood off, holding on to the rag and pointy ignoring the deep sting of her wound.

"You don't have any Aura.", He fretted, watching more red stream down her face. Even during training, they had never drawn blood. It was… Frightening.

"I'll be careful! Come on, we can't just leave the fight to Nora.", With that she vaulted up. Using her bullet recoil, Ruby hit the trigger to transform Crescent Rose to spear form, stabbing into a small black gap in the plating of its face. After nearly being thrown, and satisfied with her hold, she started unloading an entire clip into its face. Screaming a battle cry as she rapidly pulled the firing pin.

It bucked and howled as she switched between every single clip she had on her. Fire, lighting, ice, and gravity created a myriad of effects over the target. The bone cracked, spider webbing across its face as it screamed.

Shaking her head, Nora jumped into action. Taking advantage of its rapid motions to buck Ruby off, she waited until it was throwing up its body in an effort to escape the bullet onslaught. Clicking the lightning charge trigger, Nora leaped forward.

She smashed Magnhild into its chest, sending it flying into the forest. More trees snapped, this time falling away from the village.

Ruby was an after-thought. Crescent Rose was lying flat on the floor a few feet from the disoriented monster. No Ruby in sight.

Taking a deep breath, Nora jumped forward again. Sending every bit of strength through her hammer, she nailed it dead-center in its skull.

The bone shattered, splintering out over the floor before evaporating. Its neck seemed to crush into its body. It let out another flat roar, in anguish before falling limp.

Like with the Grimm from Kuroyuri, it died in a plume of black smoke. Reaching up towards the Heavens as if to grab the Gods.

Jaune took a step forward, disappointed he didn't get to help once again, but overwhelmingly proud of Nora and Ruby for taking down such a beast on their own.

Oscar was blown away. Was this what huntsmen were truly capable of? Incredible.

" _Oscar.",_ Ozpin's voice startled him out of his reverie. The stern tone instantly putting a little bit of fear into his heart. _"Find Ruby."_

Without another moment wasted, he ran up to the dissolving monster. Ruby was on the front of it, right? Did she get thrown off during Nora's hit?

"Nora, where's Ruby?", Oscar yelled, clearly panicking.

"I-I dunno. She was dug in deep on that monster. I shouldn't have sent it flying.", Nora rattled off, searching through the wreckage.

A few feet away, covered in some separated branches, Oscar saw a flash of red.

"Ruby!", He yelled, running over to his pseudo-sister.

She was face down, blood sluggishly seeping out of the wound from earlier as dirt clotted it. Her eyes were closed. Just before he reached her, the beat of a bird's wings broke his focus.

Suddenly, he was staring into red eyes, carefully hidden behind a white mask. Ozpin made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like "shit" as he looked over this figure.

"You!", Jaune's voice shouted from far behind him, still within the confines of the village.

The woman ignored it, giving Oscar a quick look. Finding him nothing of significance, she moved over to peer at Ruby.

" _Oscar. Very carefully, put the cane away. Under your shirt and out of sight.",_ He was starting to worry even more at Ozpin's cagey attitude. But, he did as he was told. Placing the cane underneath his shirt while keeping an eye on this mysterious person. It wasn't hard to hide the motion either, the cane having already been in its holster beforehand.

Jaune seemed to recognize whoever this was, if the accusing yell was anything to go by. He couldn't consult Oz without talking out loud, so he kept his mouth shut.

"I'll be borrowing this.", The figure spoke, knocking some branches off Ruby before lifting her up by the midsection. Picking her up like a lifeless doll, Ruby was completely limp in her hold. Oscar wanted to draw his weapon and fight her off, but he hadn't received any word to do so from Ozpin. Rather he had received the opposite orders.

"You're not taking her!", Oscar stood defiantly, taking a step closer to Raven. Not that he looked very intimidating. He was barely five feet tall and was still horribly inexperienced.

" _Oscar-",_ Ozpin warned.

Raven snorted. "Says who? Qrow?"

"W-well- I mean he'd probably be upset? W-wait you know Qrow?", Oscar was pretty bad at the whole hostage negotiation thing.

"Unfortunately-", Raven straightened out, probably recognizing her accidental pun. Had he not been frazzled from the events of the last hour, Oscar probably would have laughed at her. "I doubt he'll mind. Just borrowing my niece for a bit."

"Borrowin- Borrowing? She's a person!"

"More like a marionette at the moment, no?", She jostled Ruby in her hold, still unresponsive and limp.

" _Oscar!",_ A brief pain flashed through Oscar's head as Ozpin shouted.

He held his mouth shut, glaring at Raven who now had her sword drawn in her free hand.

" _We can talk about this later. I don't want you fighting her. Make sure the others don't engage. We are going to follow her. In a moment, a red portal will open when she swings her sword. I need you to jump in before it closes, which will be right after she walks through it.",_ Ozpin instructed. _"Make sure the others stay here and contact Qrow."_

He turned around as told, making a cut-throat motion to Nora and Jaune. They nodded slightly, understanding that Oscar had Ozpin giving orders. They stood down, and he readied himself to be… Transported or whatever?

Oscar tensed, setting himself into a running position. He watched as Raven raised her arm to bring her sword down and open a rift.

A "woosh" sounded as she brought her weapon down, channeling her bond to Vernal. A bright red portal opened up, casting the area in an eerie light. Everyone watched wordlessly as Raven (with Ruby) turned to enter it.

He saw an opportunity, probably a bad idea but he couldn't stop as he rushed forward. He placed a hand on Raven's back, then another. Tackling her through her own portal.

Raven let out a startled noise before tumbling through her rift, it shut behind her as three people vanished from the dense forest.

Face pale, Jaune watched as they disappeared.

Nora looked equally unnerved, looking at the townspeople gathered behind them and then back to the now empty space where Oscar, Ruby, and some random kidnapper had just been.

"Well, that just happened."

* * *

 **Fun fact: The whole reason this mini-arc was called Final Hazard was I was playing Sonic Adventure 2: Battle while pondering the idea of a massive Grimm. I keep forgetting how 0 to 100 that game gets. One day you're escaping the city and the next youre in space killing a giant salamander fused into a government space station. Life's crazy man. See you next time! Dog Days AU will be posted before chapter 8 so I'll see you there!**

 **Thank you for reading! - Ascher**


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